Marilyn Booker, a Wall Street Veteran, has ventured into the Tech World. Marilyn recently launched OPPSWell, a B2B networking app connecting enterprise Buyers with Suppliers of all hues, gender and status. The mission of OPPSWell is to (1) help Buyers identify the best in class of diverse and non-diverse Supplier businesses, on a one-stop-shopping platform; (2) assist Suppliers by providing access to coveted contracting opportunities and (3) ensure that the procurement process represents the diversity that is vital to our global marketplace.
Marilyn saw a gap in the procurement process and the need to create a greater sense of Community. Understanding that people do business with people they know, Marilyn created an ecosystem where Suppliers can develop the type of relationships with Buyers that can lead to contracting opportunities. As she is known to say, her app is “not just another database of Suppliers that Buyers can purchase.” To the contrary, she has created a Community of Suppliers and Buyers with the connectivity that can lead to relationships that many Suppliers, particularly small and diverse Suppliers, are challenged to develop on their own.
And clearly a number of major companies agree because just 3.5 months after launch, OPPSWell is trusted by buyer companies with a combined annual revenue of over $51 Billion and growing.
Marilyn knows that companies, in addition to general procurement, are committed to advancing Supplier Diversity and are looking for innovative ways to connect with diverse Suppliers. So, she made it her mission to bring diverse Suppliers to the forefront on one, centralized, user friendly platform.
With its dynamic search engine, OPPSWell welcomes all industries. Further, Buyers and Suppliers can direct message, connect and follow each other. They can also post on the Community Feed thereby raising visibility of their companies’ products, services and contracting needs.
OPPSWell also eliminates the challenge of Buyers having stale “lists” of Suppliers. On Oppswell, Suppliers update their own information because if they want to do business, it is in their best interest to provide the most up-to-date data on their profiles.
Marilyn’s development of OPPSWell is informed by her many years as the Global Head of Diversity for one of the leading Wall Street firms and creating and managing that company’s Supplier Diversity Program. As such, she understands the challenges but also the opportunities in the procurement process.
OPPSWell is subscription-based because Marilyn wants controls on the site to protect her users from some of the unfortunate scams, frauds and spam that can exist when there is unfettered access to a networking platform. However, she is offering reduced rates for a limited time for Suppliers who are interested in joining the OPPSWell community.
OPPSWell launched in the United States and Canada and will be global by 4Q 2024. It is also web-based and mobile agile via the App Store and Google Play. Congratulations to Marilyn Booker for giving the procurement community something it knew it needed! Best of luck with OPPSWell!
