Ahold Delhaize USA’s Retail Business Services Named Supplier Diversity Team of the Year

Retail Business Services, the services company of Ahold Delhaize USA, has been recognized by the Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE) as its Supplier Diversity Team of the Year, an award bestowed on an organization or professional for outstanding efforts to increase supplier diversity.

“We’re deeply appreciative of this award,” said Cheryl Smith, manager of supplier diversity for Salisbury, N.C.-based Retail Business Services, who accepted the award at CWE’s Women’s Business Leadership Conference in Framingham, Mass. “We believe that our suppliers should represent the great diversity of customers that shop at Ahold Delhaize USA’s local brands’ stores. This award demonstrates that we’re accomplishing our goal of continuing to engage and empower diverse suppliers, and of that we’re very proud and honored.”

“Retail Business Services has been and continues to be an integral part of our network to further supplier diversity in New England and nationally,” noted Gaby King Morse, president and CEO of Boston-based CWE. “They are committed to developing mutually beneficial and successful partnerships with diverse suppliers. We are proud to recognize Retail Business Services for their efforts by presenting them with the CWE Supplier Diversity Team of the Year award.”

Retail Business Services strives to develop mutually beneficial and successful partnerships with diverse suppliers both nationally and locally by incorporating diverse businesses into category reviews and product or service bids, and aim to improve the procurement process by forging strong relationships with a group of diverse businesses.

Retail Business Services provides services to six East Coast grocery brands -- Food Lion, Giant Food, Giant/Martin’s, Hannaford, and Stop & Shop -- as well as to online grocer Peapod. The services it provides include information technology, merchandising and marketing, private- brand products, pharmacy, sourcing, not for resale, stores, finance, legal, communications, supply chain, and human resources. Parent company Ahold Delhaize USA is No. 4 on Progressive Grocer’s 2019 list of the top grocers in the United States.