Supplier Diversity

Get answers to the most frequently asked questions about supplier diversity.

 

What happens after I register in the potential supplier registration portal?

Upon registering you will receive an email confirmation acknowledging that your information has been added into our system. RTX employees will have access to this system to search for prospective suppliers as sourcing opportunities arise. Be sure to visit the site periodically and update your profile. Supplier profiles should include all of your company’s capabilities. Please note, completing the registration does not guarantee business with RTX but does provide visibility regarding your company's capabilities to our procurement teams.

What type of business qualifies for inclusion in our supplier diversity program?

We welcome all competitive suppliers to support our many requirements at RTX. To participate in our supplier diversity program you must be certified or qualified as a small and/or diverse supplier. Our diverse supply chain enables us to be agile, innovative and cost-competitive as we work together to solve problems and develop solutions addressing our customers' greatest challenges. As a result, we are looking for suppliers who are cost competitive, capable and consistently able to meet or exceed expectations.

What certifications are necessary to participate in our supplier diversity program?

As prime contractors to the U.S. Government, RTX satisfies the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) certification and Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) requirements. If a small business is located in a HUBZone, that company must be certified through the SBA in order for us to demonstrate compliance with the FAR. Small businesses, woman-owned small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses or service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and small disadvantaged businesses can self-certify their size and designation on the U.S. SBA System for Award Management.

Suppliers identifying to RTX as minority-owned, woman-owned, veteran-owned, disability-owned or LGBTQ+-owned, are also strongly encouraged to obtain certification through a third party, such as a government agency, National Minority Supplier Development Council, Women Business Enterprise National Council, National Veteran Business Development Council, Disability:IN, National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, or another accredited certifying agency.

How do I get SBA certified?

First you must qualify as a small business. The Small Business Administration’s Table of Small Business Size Standards defines whether a business entity is small. For information on size standards, visit the U.S. Small Business Administration. Then, to apply for certification, you must complete the proper U.S. SBA application forms which are available online.

Certification

Certification validates a diverse or small business person’s ownership, controlling and management stake in a for-profit enterprise. Examples of third-party certification organizations are National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), which certifies minority-owned businesses. Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certifies women-owned businesses. National Veteran Business Development Council (NVBDC) certifies veteran-owned businesses. Disability:IN certifies disability-owned business enterprises. National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) certifies LGTBQ+ business enterprises.

 

Diverse Business Enterprise (DBE)

Diverse Business Enterprises refer to small, disadvantaged, minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, historically underutilized business zone, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)-owned and disability-owned businesses.

 

Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS)

The Dynamic Small Business Search is a search site hosted by the Small Business Administration (SBA).

 

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

Federal Acquisition Regulation was established for the codification and publication of uniform policies and procedures for acquisition by all executive agencies. Key small business sections include Part 19 and Part 52.

 

HUBZone

The HUBZone program fuels small business growth in historically underutilized business zones with a goal of awarding at least 3% of federal contract dollars to HUBZone-certified companies each year. To qualify, an applicant must:

• Be a small business
• Be at least 51% owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, a Community Development Corporation, an agricultural cooperative, a Native Hawaiian Organization or an Indian tribe
• Have its principal office located in a HUBZone, as certified through the SBA
• Have at least 35% of its employees living in a HUBZone

 

General Services Administration (GSA)

The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. government offices, provides transportation and office space to federal employees, and develops governmentwide cost-minimizing policies, as well as other management tasks.

 

GSA schedules

GSA Schedules (also referred to as Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) and Federal Supply Schedules) are long-term governmentwide contracts with commercial firms providing federal, state and local government buyers access to more than 11 million commercial supplies (products) and services at volume discount pricing.

 

Mentor-Protégé Program

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Mentor-Protégé Program enhances the capability of small business participants to compete more successfully for federal government contracts. The program encourages private-sector relationships and expands SBA’s efforts to identify and respond to the developmental needs of small business clients.

The Department of Defense (DOD) Mentor-Protégé Program assists small disadvantaged business concerns and designated qualifying organizations (protégés) to successfully compete for prime contract and subcontract awards by partnering with large companies (mentors) under individual, project-based agreements.

 

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.

NAICS was developed under the auspices of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and adopted in 1997 to replace the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. It was developed jointly by the U.S. Economic Classification Policy Committee (ECPC), Statistics Canada, and Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia, to allow for a high level of comparability in business statistics among the North American countries.

Please refer to the SBA Table of Size Standards to check whether your business is considered small.

 

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs

Both Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs are highly competitive programs that encourage domestic small business to engage in federal research/research development with the potential for commercialization through a competitive awards-based program, SBIR and STTR enable small businesses to explore their technological potential and provide the incentive to profit from its commercialization.

Raytheon SBIR Contact - [email protected]

To contact us via email:

RTX Corporate Office – [email protected]

Collins Aerospace – [email protected]

Pratt & Whitney – [email protected]

Raytheon – [email protected]