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Transcript
Most organizations think about suppliers in terms of transactions. A supplier provides a product or service, a contract is signed, and work gets done. Contrarily, the strongest business partnerships create value far beyond a purchase order.
Today's organizations face growing pressure to expand capabilities, enter new markets, strengthen client relationships, and deliver specialized services. Increasingly, those opportunities are being unlocked through strategic partnerships with suppliers that bring unique expertise, relationships, and market access.
At ABM, that philosophy has shaped our approach to supplier inclusion for decades.
"We've worked with small businesses for over 20 years but didn’t have a structured program in place until now," says Bob Clarke, ABM SVP of Client Experience & Operations Support. "Initially, it was in response to client demand around Fortune 500 companies specifically wanting to increase their spend with small businesses."
What began as a way to support client inclusion objectives has evolved into something much broader: a network of hundreds of supplier partnerships across industries and geographies that help create growth opportunities for clients, suppliers, and ABM alike.
From contract to partnership
When organizations invest in developing supplier relationships, they gain access to capabilities, expertise, and networks that may not exist within their own organization.
Those relationships can open doors to new markets, strengthen service delivery, increase flexibility, and create opportunities that would otherwise be difficult to access.
"We were very reactive for many years," Clarke says. "Now, we’re proactive. We go to our partners and say, 'Here's everything ABM brings to the table. How can we combine our strengths to create new opportunities for your clients, and open doors that neither of us could on our own?'"
That shift, from supplier management to supplier partnership, has become increasingly important as organizations look for new ways to drive growth.
Investing in supplier capability
One of the biggest challenges facing small and emerging businesses is proving they can operate at enterprise scale. Large organizations often have legitimate questions:
- Can the supplier support multiple locations?
- Do they have the operational infrastructure to grow?
- Can they meet compliance requirements?
- Do they have the resources to support large contracts?
To help address those challenges, ABM launched a formal Supplier Mentorship Program designed to help businesses strengthen their capabilities and prepare for larger opportunities.
Having previously worked for a small business, Candice Owens, Sr. Director of Operations Support & Supplier Inclusion at ABM, understood the challenges many emerging suppliers face when pursuing enterprise clients.
"I was very familiar with some of the objections you hear from large corporations," Owens says. "Questions like, 'Do they have the scalability? Do they have the geographic reach? Do they really understand our business?'"
ABM's Supplier Mentorship Program was created to help suppliers answer those questions with confidence.
"We wanted to give them the tools and invest in them so it takes away those doubts,"
Owens says. The result is a stronger supplier ecosystem that benefits everyone involved.
The value of relationships
While large organizations bring scale, resources, and operational expertise, smaller businesses often bring something equally valuable: relationships.
“Many supplier partners have deep connections within specific industries, geographic regions, communities, and markets that we don’t have," Owens says. “Those relationships can create opportunities that would otherwise remain out of reach.”
That access can create opportunities for collaboration, helping ABM and its partners pursue new business, enter new markets, and bring additional value to clients.
For clients, that means access to broader expertise and more flexible service delivery models. For suppliers, it creates opportunities to leverage ABM's scale, resources, and operational capabilities. Together, those complementary strengths create value that neither organization could achieve independently.
Growth works both ways
ABM's long-standing partnership with CSS, one of its earliest strategic partners, demonstrates how supplier relationships can evolve over time. What began as a small business relationship has grown into a strategic partnership supporting major enterprise clients across multiple markets. Today, the relationship helps both organizations pursue new opportunities, expand capabilities, and deliver services at scale.
Other partners are creating opportunities in areas ranging from commercial real estate and workplace services to federal contracting and emerging technologies.
"We're an extension of what our partners are trying to deliver for their clients," Clarke says. "Just as they help us meet our clients' supplier inclusion goals, we help them strengthen their client relationships. There's a mutual benefit for both organizations."
ABM subcontracts approximately $300 million annually with supplier inclusion partners, while an additional $160 million in business flows through supplier partners that subcontract to ABM, reflecting the two-way nature of many of these relationships.
One of the goals of ABM's Supplier Mentorship Program is to help businesses move beyond participation and toward growth.
Participants gain exposure to ABM leaders, subject matter experts, business development strategies, and the broader range of services ABM delivers. The program is designed to help suppliers strengthen their capabilities, identify new opportunities, and better position themselves for enterprise-scale work.
For companies like RCF, the experience has also created new pathways for collaboration.
"When we brought them to the Electrification Center for graduation and they saw the full breadth of ABM’s capabilities, it was an 'aha' moment," says Candice Owens.
One of the goals of ABM's Supplier Mentorship Program is to help businesses move beyond participation and toward growth.
Participants gain exposure to ABM leaders, subject matter experts, business development strategies, and the broader range of services ABM delivers. The program is designed to help suppliers strengthen their capabilities, identify new opportunities, and better position themselves for enterprise-scale work.
For companies like RCF, the experience has also created new pathways for collaboration.
"When we brought them to the Electrification Center for graduation and they saw the full breadth of ABM’s capabilities, it was an 'aha' moment," says Candice Owens. "Now they're bringing us opportunities, and we're going after new business together."
The result is a growing pipeline of opportunities that benefit both ABM and its supplier partners; demonstrating how supplier development can create long-term business value beyond any single contract.
Agility meets scale
Large organizations provide scale, consistency, and operational infrastructure. Smaller partners often bring speed and agility. That combination can be especially valuable when clients need support that falls outside traditional scopes of work or requires a more localized response.
"They're nimbler than we are," Owens says. "If a building needs a light changed or there's broken glass, for instance, our partners have the flexibility to step in and handle those one-off needs or specialized requests that might otherwise require additional coordination."
Together, those complementary capabilities help create stronger service outcomes for clients.
Looking ahead
Organizations continue to seek partners that can help them expand capabilities, strengthen relationships, and create new opportunities for growth. Supplier inclusion programs that focus on capability-building, mentorship, and long-term partnership are increasingly becoming an important part of that strategy.
For ABM, the goal has never been simply to create supplier relationships. It's to build an ecosystem of partners that helps clients solve problems, create opportunities for growth, and strengthens the communities where business gets done.
As Owens puts it, those partnerships are about more than contracts.
"They're hiring people locally, putting money into their own economies, and investing in communities," she says. "And that's huge."
The strongest supplier partnerships don't just support business objectives. They create value that extends far beyond the transaction itself.
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