There’s good reason why the biggest companies in the world – AT&T, Apple, Bank of America and CVS among them – are making it a priority to achieve a higher percentage of procurement with minority vendors.

It works.

“To grow and thrive, companies need to incorporate diversity,” said Kathy Cheng, who taught the class “Diversity Opens Doors” during Education Day at ASI Orlando on Thursday. The class sought to teach the value and ROI of diversity to both suppliers and distributors. “We need a diverse supplier base to innovate and break the status quo. If you have the same-old, same-old, you won’t necessarily bring anything new to the industry.”

Kathy Cheng, Redwood Classics Apparel

Cheng is founder/CEO of Canada’s vertically-integrated apparel manufacturer Redwood Classics Apparel (asi/81627). She was joined on the dais by Accenture’s Dora Silva, a global corporate buyer specializing in inclusion, diversity and sustainability. Silva, a native of El Salvador, immigrated to Canada in 1988.

The two speakers encouraged their audience to diversify internally, through best practices, education and minority recruiting, and externally, by either getting officially certified as a woman- or minority-owned company or doing business with certified companies.

Supplier diversity dates to the 1960s in the U.S., thanks in part to new government requirements. It requires third-party certification. To be considered, companies must be 51% owned, managed or operated by under-represented ownership groups like veterans, minorities, LGBT and disabled individuals.

Diversity can boost a company’s bottom line by driving innovation and providing companies with better marketing intelligence. “Make sure your client base looks like your community,” Silva said. “We do it at Accenture because it makes sense.”

Diversity won’t necessarily get a company more business, or preferential treatment, Cheng cautioned. Quality, service and pricing will still matter the most. But, she said, “diversity will open up opportunities with larger companies.”

“The best way to secure the future is to create it,” said Cheng, ASI’s 2016 Counselor Supplier Woman of Distinction. “That’s what we’re doing.”