Louisiana Economic Development Turns Local Sourcing into Measurable Impact

Overview

State and local economic development teams are increasingly focused on delivering outcomes that translate into local job creation, stronger wages, and more dollars staying within the state. Louisiana Economic Development’s (LED) goal was not simply to build a statewide business directory, but to create a sustainable way for major employers to source with Louisiana businesses while enabling the state to measure and communicate impact with confidence.

A common challenge states face is connecting employer intent with usable, reliable local supplier information. “They want to source locally but often don’t have a clear view of the business landscape or an easy way to identify potential suppliers,” said senior director of the Louisiana Growth Network Chris Cassagne.

The challenge: local sourcing is hard to scale and even harder to prove

The challenge was not a lack of effort. Over time, LED had developed multiple supplier lists, but there was no centralized resource that buyers could reliably use in sourcing decisions, especially over time.

For corporate buyers, a long list alone is not enough. They need a way to identify the most qualified local suppliers based on their specific criteria. That creates added challenges for economic development teams, which must remain neutral and cannot show preference for one company over another.

Most states already have a local supplier initiative that provides businesses with a list of local companies.  However, encouraging businesses to maintain detailed profiles, keep information up to date and make those systems easy for large companies to use requires significant resources, often to achieve even limited results.

The challenge is making local sourcing work end-to-end:

• Supplier data is hard to maintain, verify and keep current
• Large buyers need a procurement-friendly experience to support adoption
• Program leaders need measurable outcomes they can defend publicly, beyond anecdotes

The “before”: why DIY portals often stall

LED initially sought to address this challenge internally by investing time and resources in a custom-built supplier portal designed to support two-way interaction between buyers and suppliers. After three years of hard work, the team had signed up about 1,000 local companies for the directory. Even so, adoption among large companies was limited, and it was difficult to demonstrate local impact.

The result followed a familiar pattern for many agencies: adoption and engagement were difficult to sustain over time. Even when teams are doing everything they can, internal builds often struggle because:

• Supplier profiles change constantly, including ownership, locations, capabilities and certifications; often by approximately 25% annually, making DIY upkeep difficult. (Source: Supplier.io)
• Registration and review workflows become bottlenecks
• The buyer experience does not align with how procurement teams source suppliers
• Reporting becomes manual and difficult to defend externally

LED needed a solution that could increase local supplier participation, drive meaningful buyer engagement and create a foundation for demonstrable economic impact.

To address those needs, LED partnered with Supplier.io.

The solution: Source Louisiana was built to drive adoption and measure outcomes

LED partnered with Supplier.io to launch Source Louisiana, a statewide, Louisiana-branded supplier registration and discovery platform designed to help major employers identify qualified Louisiana businesses of all sizes for sourcing opportunities.

LED positioned Source Louisiana as part of a broader strategy to make local participation easier and measure engagement over time.

Key capabilities implemented through Source Louisiana include:

• State-branded supplier registration that is easy for businesses to complete
• Supplier discovery designed for corporate sourcing teams
• Supplier legitimacy and workflow controls, including registration, self-certification, affidavit submission and approval processes
• Analytics and program reporting to track adoption and engagement
• Economic impact measurements

Results: stronger traction in the first three months

In the first three months after launch, LED reported:

• Approximately 1,300 companies registered
• 16 enterprise licenses issued to large organizations
• Active buyer usage reported by most participating enterprises

Early usage showed that participation was continuing beyond initial sign-ups. “Most participating organizations have been actively using the platform to search for suppliers, which represents a shift from prior efforts,” Chris Cassagne said.

The work of LED and Supplier.io was also recognized by Gov. Jeff Landry as part of his broader local economic development message.

“From day one, I promised that this administration would put Louisiana businesses first, and today we are delivering on that promise,” Governor Jeff Landry said at the launch of Source Louisiana.

Why partnering with an industry leader was more efficient

For economic development teams, the lesson is not whether a portal can be built, but whether data quality, buyer adoption and proof of impact can be sustained year after year.

Partnering with Supplier.io allowed LED to move faster and address these challenges because:

1. Supplier data is continuously maintained, allowing buyers to trust the information they find
2. Discovery is built for procurement, supporting adoption by large employers
3. Measurement becomes repeatable, enabling credible reporting on supplier engagement, participation and outcomes

“Partnering allowed us to focus on driving participation and outcomes, rather than maintaining the underlying system,” Chris Cassagne said.

What this enables for elected officials and local stakeholders

Source Louisiana enables LED to report progress in clear, concrete terms the public understands. That includes supplier participation, buyer adoption and economic outcomes.

States do not just need participation; they need proof. By using Supplier.io, LED established a defensible impact narrative that elected leaders and stakeholders can stand behind, including:

• Greater support for large enterprises doing business in the state
• Increased opportunities for local small and diverse businesses
• Higher local participation by anchor employers
• Measurable reporting on engagement and, as the program expands, outcomes such as jobs, wages and tax revenue

A playbook other states can replicate

For states that already have a supplier portal or directory, the experience in Louisiana offers a clear upgrade path:

1. Maintain state branding while leveraging existing data and modernizing the supplier experience to encourage participation
2. Design the buyer experience to be procurement-friendly to support adoption by large employers
3. Add workflows that improve supplier trust, such as verification, self-certification and approval processes
4. Track engagement through metrics such as searches, logins, supplier outreach and project connections
5. Publish progress regularly, with the ability to expand into outcome reporting over time, including jobs, wages and tax revenue

LED’s partnership with Supplier.io illustrates how supplier ecosystems can be launched and scaled to expand opportunities for local small and diverse businesses while supporting measurable community impact.