SOLON, Ohio — This summer, ECRM and Walgreens Boots Alliance plan to host a Supplier Diversity Summit in Chicago.

During the full-day program, scheduled for July 19 in Chicago, Walgreens category managers will meet with diverse suppliers of products in the health and wellness, beauty and personal care, competitive convenience, and wellness OTC/advanced care categories.

Rona Fourte, Walgreens

The ECRM Supplier Diversity Summit is part of Walgreens’ efforts to promote and partner with diverse and small-business suppliers and these enterprises grow, according to Rona Fourte, director of supplier diversity for the drug chain.

“Since the formalization of our program in 2007, we have worked with many diverse-owned businesses in the community,” Fourte said in a statement. “The ECRM Diversity Summit builds on this commitment, and we look forward to meeting suppliers with new innovative offerings to enhance the selection of items that our customers value as we champion everyone’s right to be happy and healthy.”

Nine Walgreens category managers will each have private, scheduled meetings with up to 17 selected suppliers, who will also attend a special keynote presentation during lunch. Consumer packaged goods (CPG) service providers will also be on hand to provide expertise to attendees.

Before the summit, ECRM will host two webcasts in which Walgreens representatives will discuss the retailer’s supplier diversity program and outline the category managers’ expectations to help these suppliers prepare for their meetings.

“ECRM is excited to be partnering with Walgreens Boots Alliance to create a program that enables it to find and source supplier diversity from within the consumer packaged goods industry,” stated Wayne Bennett, senior vice president of retail for ECRM. “Aligning the goals of the merchant teams, ECRM has developed a comprehensive approach to efficiently on-board these suppliers with educational resources, training modules and access to industry service providers to win on the shelf. The Walgreens Supplier Diversity Summit will be an outstanding day of learning, access and network-building.”

ECRM said the supplier diversity classifications include African-American, American Indian, Asian-Indian, Asian-Pacific, Disabled, Hispanic/Latino, LGBT, Veteran and Women. Suppliers must complete an online application for consideration by Walgreens. The deadline to apply is May 1.