Unity instills profitability Roundtable urges vendors, corporate

SMALL BUSINESSES

By Amy Bauer

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Small companies looking for a date with some of Topeka's largest corporate buyers have a matchmaking service in the Topeka and Shawnee County Purchasing Roundtable.

About 70 business owners and buying agents met Wednesday morning at the Ramada Inn Downtown for the third Topeka Minority Business Breakfast, one of the roundtable's quarterly networking events. Buyers and roundtable members met to learn more about local vendors, and small business owners were there to market their companies.

"What we're trying to do is to encourage large businesses here in Topeka to buy Topeka," said Tony Augusto, manager of small/minority/ women business development for the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce.

While the roundtable is relatively new to Topeka --- it began in October and meets every two months --- similar organizations exist in cities across the country.

The 25 Topeka purchasing roundtable members spend millions of dollars annually on products and services for their companies and organizations. Augusto estimated their total buying power in the billions of dollars.

"If we could get 5 percent of that, it would be good for Topeka," Augusto said.

Albert Lei, owner of Kaw Valley Printing, said it is a challenge for small businesses to market their services.

"The only thing I know of is networking," he said, as he took his two minutes to introduce his business and services to those assembled.

Bob Novak, store supplies buyer for Payless ShoeSource, is responsible for the supplies that make their way to the 5,000 Payless retail stores across the globe.

"It's millions of dollars that we purchase every year," he said.

The networking breakfasts have reconnected him with some vendors he has worked with in the past, such as Lei, and have introduced him to new potential suppliers. He said he has noted a misconception among some businesses that large companies such as Payless wouldn't consider local or small businesses.

"That's why I think a vehicle like this provides a nice forum for meeting each other and finding out we're all the same people," Novak said. "We need responsive vendors that can provide quality products at a competitive value."

Roy Woods, buyer for Surface Specialties, formerly called UCB Films, said it is difficult to find locally some of the raw materials for the cellophane production, but the roundtable has helped him keep his eyes open for everything from landscaping equipment to cleaning services that can be used by the local plant.

"Anything we can handle locally, we do," Woods said.

Wayne Hardy, manager of contract administration for Westar Energy, said while the company always has made it a goal to buy from minority- , women- and veteran-owned businesses, the company is in the midst of formalizing its program. He said the company will use historical data to set a target percentage from minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses for a baseline year, 2004, and will continue to set increasing goals for future years.

"It's not just for Westar. It's going to help everybody," Hardy said, noting that local businesses and the economy benefit in addition to the increased competition and more diverse supplier base gained by Westar Energy.

Amy Rose Herrick, owner of the Reliable Car Shop, said she has been attending the business breakfasts since their beginning and has found a side benefit.

"It has been an excellent networking opportunity and also an excellent resource for finding other small businesses that I didn't know about," Herrick said.

For example, Herrick has been working with owners Summer and Jason Hull, of Fastlane Business Solutions, to design a Web site for her business.

"We've gotten quite a bit of business from the networking we've done with the chamber," Summer Hull said.

Amy Bauer can be reached at

(785) 295-1231 or amy.bauer@cjonline.com.

PURCHASING

ROUNDTABLE

MEMBERS

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, BRB Contractors Inc., Burlington Northern Santa Fe, city of Topeka, Del Monte Pet Products, Frito-Lay Inc., Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce/Go Topeka, Harrah's Prairie Band Casino, Hill's Pet Nutrition, Jostens Printing & Publishing, Kansas Department of Commerce, Payless ShoeSource, Reser's Fine Foods, SBC, Security Benefit Group of Cos., Shawnee County, St. Francis Health Center, Stormont-Vail HealthCare, Topeka Transit Authority, U.S. Postal Service, Surface Specialties, Unified School District 501, VA Shared Service Center, Westar Energy.

For more information, call the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce at 234-2644.

UPCOMING BUSINESS

BREAKFASTS

- Nov. 12, 2003

- Feb. 11, 2004

- May 12, 2004

- Aug. 11, 2004

- Nov. 10, 2004

For more information, call the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce at 234-2644.

ANTHONY S. BUSH/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Brian Turner, left, owner of CCC Inc., a small contract cleaning business, speaks with Gerald Walker, chairman of Topeka Home Builders Association, during Wednesday's Topeka Minority Business Breakfast at the Ramada Inn Downtown.

Please see ROUNDTABLE, Page 12A

Continued from Page 10A

Roundtable: 'It's going to help everybody'

Copyright 2003
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.