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          Join us for our installment of the Pacesetters Doing Business series featuring Mass General Brigham on August 7, 2025.

          08/07/2025

          1:00pm - 2:00pm

          Virtual

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          BIMA
          2025 BIMA Summer Sizzler

          The BIMA Summer Sizzler is a chance to network with your digital media industry peers from the agency, publisher, and adtech community!

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          6:00pm - 9:00pm

          Fenway Park

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Talent
          Skills for the Future: How to Upskill Early Talent for Success

          Join Boston’s leading educators and industry experts to explore career-aligned high school programs, in-demand workplace skills, and innovative school partnerships driving student success

          07/17/2025

          9:00am - 11:00am

          Omni Boston Hotel Seaport

          arrow-go
          Read More
  • Learning & Development
        • Learning & Development

          • Overview
          • Call for Nominations
          • Insights
        • Transformational DEI Certificate

          This program is in redevelopment. Click this page for DEI resources.

          Read More
          Women’s Leadership Program

          Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.

          Read More
          Boston’s Future Leaders

          Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.

          Read More
          Authentic Professionalism for Early Career Professionals

          In this highly interactive workshop with Strategic Career & Leadership Coach Carole-Ann Penney, you’ll define your professional identity and develop strategies to confidently navigate workplace dynamics.

          Read More
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        • ...
          Economic Inclusion
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          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Economic Inclusion
          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

          arrow-go
          Read More
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          Read More
          City Awake

          City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.

          Read More
          BIMA

          BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.

          Read More
          Women’s Network

          For over 30 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.

          Read More
          Massachusetts Apprentice Network

          The Massachusetts Apprentice Network convenes employers, training providers, and talent sources interested in developing and implementing apprenticeship programs in occupations across industries and statewide in fields such as tech, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and more.

          Read More
          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

          Read More
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Top tips on procurement practices: a Q&A with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

November 11, 2020

On October 28, we sat down with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts for a Pacesetters Doing Business event. This series allows MBE companies to hear directly from procurement officers at Pacesetter corporations to learn about specific processes that may be unique to each company, including but not limited to, procurement procedures, RFP and bidding preferences, contract cycles, and more. 

At the end of the event, participants were able to ask a few questions. Curious about what it means to do business in Boston with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts? Read on for some top tips!

How do you work with smaller companies who cannot compete on price point with larger vendors in order to ensure supplier diversity?

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts: Price is certainly one of the factors we consider when choosing a supplier, however, it is not the sole factor.  We also evaluate suppliers based on their ability to meet our business requirements and provide quality products and services.     

How does a new business use the opportunity to pair with an existing BCBSMA vendor for a joint venture and/or Tier 2 contracting opportunity? Does BCBSMA have a list of approved vendors or do joint ventures happen organically on their own? 

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts: Our Tier 2 program further promotes Blue Cross’ goal to create business opportunities for diverse suppliers, including MBEs. We encourage our non-diverse suppliers to collaborate with us to meet our supplier diversity goals by making good faith efforts to include certified diverse suppliers as subcontractors in procurement agreements with Blue Cross.

Is there a central purchasing entity for bidding opportunities for signage/branding/wayfinding related services?  

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts: Yes, Blue Cross does have centralized procurement departments that facilitate the buying of products and services for the company. While we do not have any procurement opportunities for signage, branding, and wayfinding related services at this time, there could be opportunities in the future. I encourage you to check-in periodically about procurement opportunities with the Supplier Diversity team. Our contact information is [email protected] or [email protected].

How can companies become involved with the RFP process with BCBSMA?

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts: We recommend that companies start by registering in the Blue Cross vendor portal. This vendor database is one of the tools used to search for diverse businesses when there is a sourcing opportunity. Please understand that registration does not guarantee business or winning a bid at the company.

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