Sustainability through Diversity

Our program is designed to identify and provide quote opportunities to high-potential, diverse suppliers that can meet ZF North America Inc. requirements in the areas of cost, quality, delivery and service.

The ZF Supplier Diversity Program is open to certified U.S.-based, qualified businesses and small disadvantaged government certified suppliers.

ZF North America Inc. respects your desire for information. If you have specific questions regarding our program which have not been addressed on the previous pages, you may contact the Supplier Diversity Group in writing or by sending an email to the address below.

Supplier Diversity Program
ZF North America Inc.
2025 Tech Center Drive
Livonia, MI 48150
Email: supplierdiversity@zf.com

NOTE: Inquires will be addressed as time and resources permit.

ZF North America follows the guidelines set by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) when identifying certified, diverse suppliers. The NMSDC defines a certified minority business enterprise (MBE) as a for-profit enterprise, regardless of size, physically located in the United States or its trust territories, which is owned, operated and controlled by minority group members. "Minority group members" that qualify are United States citizens who are African-American, Hispanic-American, Native American, Asian-Pacific American and Asian-Indian American.

Ownership by minority individual means the business is at least 51 percent owned by such individuals or, in the case of a publicly owned business, at least one or more such individuals own at least 51 percent of the stock. Further, those minority group members must control the management and daily operations of the business.

See below for definitions of these ethnic groups:

African-American
A U.S. citizen having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.

Asian-Indian American
A U.S. citizen whose origins are from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh.

Asian-Pacific American
A U.S. citizen whose origins are from Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Trust Territories of the Pacific or the Northern Mariana's.

Hispanic-American
A U.S. citizen of trueborn Hispanic heritage, from any of the Spanish-speaking areas of Latin America or the following regions: Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean basin only.

Native American
A person who is an American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut or Native Hawaiian, and regarded as such by the community of which the person claims to be a part of. Native Americans must be documented members of a North American tribe, band or otherwise organized group of native people who are indigenous to the continental United States, proof of which can be provided through a Native American Blood Degree Certificate (i.e., tribal registry letter, tribal roll register number).

You will be required to provide documentation of your certification, to be considered for the ZF North America Supplier Diversity Program.

For more information, visit the NMSDC website at http://nmsdc.org

A small disadvantaged business concern is one that is organized for profit, with a place of business located in the U.S. It must operate primarily within the U.S. or make a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor. It must meet the numerical size standards as defined in the Small Business Code of Federal Regulations, 13 CFR 121.

It is the policy of the United States according to the Federal Acquisition Regulation Clause (FAR 52.219-8) that small disadvantaged business concerns, veteran-owned small business concerns, service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns, HUBZone small business concerns and women-owned small business concerns, have the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in bidding for contracts offered by any Federal agency, including contracts and subcontracts for subsystems, assemblies, components, and related services for major systems including vehicles utilized by the Dept. of Defense (DOD). A list of small, disadvantaged business concerns which are registered with the SBA can be viewed through the Central Contractor Registration Database (CCR). A small business concern must register with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to qualify for assistance or participate in any designated programs.

As part of ZF North America’s Supplier Diversity Program, you must provide proof that your company has obtained one or more of the certifications listed below through the Small Business Administration (SBA).

For more information regarding certification, visit the Small Business Administration (SBA) website: http://www.sba.gov

The definition of the various small business classifications are as follows:

Small Business Concern
A small business concern which is smaller than a given size as measured by its employment, business receipts, or business assets and meets the size standards, according to the Small Business Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

Small Disadvantaged Business Concern (SDB)
A small business concern that is at least 51 percent owned by one or more individuals who are both socially and economically disadvantaged. This can include a publicly owned business that has at least 51 percent of its stock unconditionally owned by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and whose management and daily business is controlled by one or more such individuals.

Veteran-Owned / Service-Disabled Veteran Small Disadvantaged Business Concern
A small business concern that is at least 51 percent owned by one or more veterans or service-disabled veterans. This can include a publicly owned business that has at least 51 percent of its stock unconditionally owned by veterans or service-disabled veterans and whose management and daily business is controlled by one or more such individuals.

HUBZone Small Business Concern
A small business concern which operates in Historically Underutilized Business Zones. Through the HUBzone Empowerment Contracting program, federal contracting opportunities are provided for qualified small businesses located in distressed areas. The HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program stimulates economic development, empowers and creates jobs in urban and rural communities and helps to attract private investment firms by providing Federal contracting preferences to small businesses. These preferences go to small businesses that obtain HUBZone (Historically Underutilized Business Zone) certification in part by employing staff who live in a HUBZone.

Woman-Owned Small Business Concern
A small business concern that is at least 51 percent owned by one or more women. This can include a publicly owned business that has at least 51 percent of its stock unconditionally owned by one or more such individuals and whose management and daily business is controlled by one or more women.

A small business concern must register and be certified with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to qualify for assistance or participate in any designated programs offered by the SBA.

A woman-owned business enterprise is described as one which is 51 percent owned and operated by a woman and in the case of a public company, 51 percent of the ownership is with one or more women.

In addition to the above, to qualify for certification the following criteria must also be met:

• WBE must demonstrate proof of effective management and control of the business operations
• WBE must demonstrate contribution of capital and/or expertise
• WBE must be a U.S. citizen or maintain resident alien status

If your company is certified as a woman-owned business enterprise (WBE), you will be required to provide proof of certification, to participate in the ZF North America Supplier Diversity Program.

For more information regarding certification, visit the WBENC website: http://wbenc.org