ROCHESTER, N.Y.--June 10, 2003--Xerox Corporation's practices to support supplier diversity as a contractor to the federal government have received an "outstanding" rating by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The rating - the highest that can be achieved by a prime contractor for the federal government - was earned after a three-month audit review of Xerox's subcontracting goals and accomplishments. Such contractor reviews occur approximately every five years as part of a legislative mandate, and Xerox also received "outstanding" ratings in 1994 and 1999. The SBA analyzes whether the maximum practicable opportunities are provided for small businesses and minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses. The SBA cited Xerox for "strong management support" of its supplier diversity program, numerous outreach activities, the corporate Minority/Female Steering Committee of senior managers who provide strategic direction and oversight of the program, and an online process that helps small businesses do business with Xerox. "Our supplier program represents an opportunity for Xerox and our customers who benefit by being offered high quality at the best price and value," said Dan Robinson, manager, Xerox Global Purchasing-Market Access. "We consider our diverse suppliers to be proactive partners in developing customer solutions. Often they outperform the general supplier population on quality, cost and flexibility." Since the program's inception in 1985, Xerox has spent well over $4 billion with minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses in the United States. In 2002, Xerox purchased $264 million of goods and services from such businesses, nearly one-third more than targeted. It represented 24 percent of Xerox's total qualified U.S. purchases. Xerox also encourages its major suppliers to adopt supplier diversity programs of their own, asking they spend at least 5 percent of their total purchasing spend with minority- and women-owned businesses. In 2000, Xerox won three supplier awards from the U.S. SBA: the Frances Perkins Vanguard Award, recognizing use of woman-owned small businesses; the Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence, which honors large contractors who use small businesses and subcontractors; and the Award of Distinction, recognizing large federal contractors that have exceptional small business subcontracting programs. "Xerox is among few companies to have received the 'Triple Crown' in awards presented by SBA in one calendar year," Robinson said. Long recognized for its commitment to supplier diversity, Xerox has been cited by other external organizations such as DiversityInc magazine, Working Woman magazine, the Women's Business Enterprise National Council, the multicultural business-to-business portal Div2000.com, and more.