Novartis is always looking for opportunities to work with best-in-class diverse suppliers, who provide unique expertise as well as innovative ideas, products and services.

Board room meeting

Policy

Our Commitment

To Our Prospective Business Partners:

Novartis affiliates located in the US continue to work hard to earn our reputation as a leader in diversity and inclusion. For us, best practices include developing a supplier base that reflects the diverse patients and customers we serve - that means nurturing relationships with small, minority, women, LGBT, people with disabilities, and veteran-owned companies and other diverse businesses within our supplier community. We want to work with companies and individuals that bring different thoughts, ideas, backgrounds and experiences to help us innovate in every aspect of our business. Simply put, diversity helps us to do what we do best - work together as one team to help patients and improve patient care.

Our Mission

We pledge to provide opportunities to small businesses, and those owned by minorities, women, LGBT, people with disabilities, veterans, and the disabled veteran enterprises as well as small disadvantaged and HubZone-certified enterprises for the communities in which we live and work and for the people who work with us and for those we serve.

By seeking to continually identify and partner with best-in-class diverse suppliers, we want to offer opportunities that will support those suppliers' own growth and development while advancing the mission and goals of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

Our Policy

In our supplier diversity objectives, we are committed to four basic operating principles:

  • Ensuring business opportunities for minority and women-owned suppliers and other small and diverse businesses
  • Leveraging multiple sources of talent wherever that talent is found
  • Developing and extending diverse supplier relationships
  • Communicating the value of supplier diversity, both internally and externally

We will measure our success in attaining these objectives by our ability to move solidly into the top tier of best-in class companies that are recognized for creating and maintaining such diverse partnerships. Ultimately, we believe our effort will help ensure a commitment to diverse supplier performance that also allows us to better serve our customers and communities.

Second Tier Relationships

To help us achieve our supplier diversity goals, we request that our majority suppliers actively participate in our Supplier Diversity initiative by seeking tier-two relationships with businesses owned by: minorities, women, small businesses, veteran, service disabled veteran businesses, LGBT, people with disabilities, as well as HubZone certified businesses and small disadvantaged businesses (SDB). This participation demonstrates added value on the part of our majority suppliers.

Certification and Registration

Certification

Certification of a supplier's diverse status is required for participation in the Novartis Supplier Diversity effort when applicable.

Certification documents from the following qualified agencies are acceptable:

  • United States Small Business Administration (SBA)
  • National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) or its affiliates
  • Women's Business Enterprise Council (WBENC) or its affiliates
  • City, State, or Federal Certification Agencies
  • National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC)
  • Disability: IN
  • National Veteran Business Development Council (NVBDC)

Types of businesses that Novartis considers "diverse suppliers”

Small Business (self-certified): Business that is smaller than a given size as measured by its employment and revenue in accordance with the U.S. SBA.

Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB/SBA certified): A for-profit business at least 51% owned by one or more individuals who are both socially and economically disadvantaged. Firms that receive 8A certification automatically qualify as an SDB.

Small, Women Owned Business (self-certified): A for-profit business that is smaller than a given size measured by its employment and revenue in accordance with the U.S. SBA and is at least 51% owned by one or more U.S. citizen women.

Veteran (VOSB; SBA certified): A for-profit enterprise, regardless of size, at least 51% owned and controlled by U.S. citizen(s) who are Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Service Disabled Veteran (SBA certified): A for-profit enterprise, regardless of size, at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more disabled veterans.

HubZone (SBA certified): A for-profit business located in a historically underutilized business zone with at least 35% of its employees residing in a HubZone.

Minority (includes MBE certified suppliers): A for-profit enterprise, regardless of size, physically in the U.S. or its trust territories, at least 51% owned by one or more minority members. Minority members may be:

  • African American: origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
  • Hispanic American: true-born Hispanic heritage, from any Spanish speaking areas of Latin America or Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean basin.
  • Native American: American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut or Native Hawaiian.
  • Asian-Pacific American: origins from Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, Samoa, Guam, The U.S. Trusted Territories of the Pacific or the Northern Marianas.
  • Asian-Indian American: origins from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
  • Alaskan Native Corporation (ANC)

Disabled Business Enterprise: A business that is at least 51 percent owned by an individual or individuals with a disability, i.e. "a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities" (as defined by the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. section 12111 et seq., its interpretive regulations, 29 C.F.R. part 1630, and case law) who also control(s) and operate(s) it. "Control" in this context means exercising the power to make policy decisions. "Operate" in this context means actively involved in the day-to-day management of the business.

LGBT: Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender

Registration

Once certified, suppliers must register with Novartis to support our compliance for supplier diversity reporting and to facilitate fast and effective transactions between our company and our suppliers.

Register as a supplier with Novartis

 

FAQs

Contact SBA Offices and Services

You can find them on the U.S. Census Bureau web site.

Once you are registered, category managers will have access to the database and be able to run searches based on upcoming needs. Please bookmark this site to update your information as needed.

What We Buy

What We Buy

Novartis has a broad array of buying needs with requirements that can vary greatly depending on location, operation and/or business. Below is a sampling of goods and services currently procured from diverse suppliers:

  • Digital, Social, Mobile
  • Discovery, Pre-Clinical, Technical Development, and Clinical Services
  • Engineering and Construction
  • Facility Services
  • Information Technologies
  • Laboratory Supplies & Equipment
  • Manufacturing Related
  • Marketing Insights and Analytics
  • Marketing: Advertising, Medical Education Services, & Multichannel Marketing
  • Maintenance, Repair, Operations (MRO)
  • Office Supplies
  • Patient Services
  • Professional Services
  • Print & Promotional Materials
  • Telecommunications
  • Temporary Services & Staffing
  • Training
  • Travel