How Companies are Driving Small Supplier Sourcing with Supplier.io

With continued focus on supply chain cost cutting and the need to manage volatility, more organizations are ramping up strategies to source with US small businesses. Last week Verizon announced it will spend $5 billion with small business over the next 5 years. Companies are actively looking to strengthen supply chain resilience, reduce risk, and drive innovation with data-driven small supplier sourcing. 

At the center of this transformation is Supplier.io’s Supplier Intelligence Platform, which offers sourcing professionals a proactive path to uncover, evaluate, and recommend highly qualified small and diverse suppliers with unparalleled speed and confidence. 

Turning spend data into strategic sourcing insights 

The foundation of successful small supplier sourcing lies in understanding your current spend. Supplier.io’s platform provides business unit level analytics so you can see who is spending and on what in your organization.   This allows you to to highlight underutilized categories, regions, or supplier types. Procurement teams can see where existing contracts rely heavily on single-source suppliers or where there’s low representation of small businesses. 

For example, one organization used Supplier.io to analyze their MRO category spend and discovered a concentration of large, global suppliers. By tapping into Supplier.io’s database of 10 million+ suppliers, they were able to quickly identify 15 qualified small suppliers with relevant capabilities. The result: a new sourcing strategy that improved supply chain agility and helped meet internal diversity goals. 

From data to action: faster discovery of new suppliers 

Once a gap or opportunity is identified, sourcing professionals can use Supplier.io’s Supplier Explorer and Market Analyzer tools to search for alternate suppliers by location, certification, experience, or product category. Whether it’s finding small aluminum manufacturers in the Midwest or sustainable packaging providers on the West Coast, the platform makes discovery immediate and actionable. 

During a recent product spotlight webinar, Supplier.io shared how companies used the platform to source local suppliers for high-risk categories impacted by trade disruptions. For example, in automotive and electronics, Supplier.io users identified small domestic suppliers to mitigate tariffs and cross-border supply chain delays. 

Proactive recommendations for business units 

One of the standout use cases involves supplier diversity professionals leveraging Supplier.io to bring proactive recommendations to business stakeholders before a sourcing event is even planned. By reviewing category-level data and risk exposure, users can present leadership with 10–20 vetted small supplier options aligned with upcoming initiatives. These pre-emptive insights build credibility, deepen internal partnerships, and ensure diverse suppliers are considered from the start. 

Results that speak for themselves 

According to Supplier.io’s own research, 65% of organizations that increased their sourcing from small, local, and diverse suppliers reported stronger supply chain competitiveness. Companies also experienced: 

• Improved cost efficiency through local sourcing 

• Enhanced responsiveness to market disruptions 

• Better eligibility for government contracts and RFPs 

• Increased innovation from small suppliers with niche expertise 

Closing the visibility gap with continuous updates 

What sets Supplier.io apart is the continuous enrichment of its supplier data. With over 1 million supplier records updated monthly, and certifications sourced from 450+ partners, procurement teams can act on trusted, current data; eliminating guesswork and ensuring accuracy in sourcing decisions. 

Ready to rethink your small business sourcing strategy? 

Supplier.io empowers procurement teams to move from reactive to proactive sourcing. Whether you’re diversifying your supplier base, managing tariff risks, or building a more inclusive supply chain, our platform delivers the intelligence you need to take action faster. 

Visit Supplier.io to see how our Supplier Intelligence Platform can transform your approach to small supplier sourcing.