Supplier Advocates provide leadership and coordination to improve the competitiveness of SMEs in targeted industry sectors and help them connect with new business opportunities.
Utilising their professional networks, business acumen and access to decision-makers, Supplier Advocates assist sectors to develop and execute industry development strategies.
These industry sectors are:
The department is investigating the appropriateness of supplier advocates for other industry sectors.
About the initiative
Advocates play a strategic role by building on existing industry and government initiatives, and complement programs such as the state based Industry Capability Network, the Commonwealth’s Enterprise Connect, and Austrade. They also work closely with industry, industry associations, Industry Innovation Councils, unions, and other key stakeholders.
Supplier Advocates provide leadership in developing and implementing industry marketing and business development strategies, which could include coordinating opportunities for companies to showcase their capabilities and products to government and promoting supply chain development activities.
Priority is being given to activities where the Supplier Advocate can make a positive impact with an agreed strategy that focuses identified capabilities and capacity (whether existing or potential).
The Supplier Advocates initiative complements the Government’s requirement that prime contractors to large Commonwealth Government procurements will develop and implement Australian Industry Participation Plans in order to provide companies with full, fair and reasonable opportunity to compete for work.
The Supplier Advocate Program is part of the Australian Government’s $19.1 million Boosting Australian Industry Participation announcement made in July 2009.