Suppliers

For suppliers and those interested in pursuing a business relationship with Allstate, we provide clear guidelines through our Sourcing and Procurement Solutions department. This is our centralized sourcing department, which has a mission to leverage the company's purchasing power to ensure that the highest quality of goods and services are available at the most cost-effective price.

We actively pursue and use veteran, minority- and female-owned suppliers to broaden our innovation and creativity. When we do business with these companies, we're creating jobs and opportunities to help build the future marketplace. We hold ourselves accountable for ensuring that minority-owned companies compete for our business. In addition, we ask all suppliers we do business with to report their levels of diversity spending to us.

Supplier Expectations and Requirements

To encourage compliance with Allstate requirements and ethical business practices, Allstate updated its Supplier Expectations and Requirements document in September 2007. Allstate's relationships with our suppliers and their representatives are based on the principle of fair and honest dealings at all times and in all ways. Allstate specifically expects its suppliers to extend the same principle of fair and honest dealings to all others with whom they do business, including Allstate customers, employees, subcontractors and other third parties.

Allstate is always looking for new ways to deliver a great customer experience at a competitive price. In some cases, outsourcing is a viable option to help us achieve that goal. Today, technology makes it possible for Allstate and other U.S. companies to use skilled workers around the country and the world to assist with select processes and operations that help deliver an outstanding customer experience.

Supplier Diversity

Allstate includes veteran-, minority- and women- owned businesses in the competitive bidding process where possible at Allstate in support of our commitment to diversity and inclusion. The only external auditing we do is in verifying the veteran, women or minority status of suppliers. Our Supplier Diversity Program was established in 2003, and since then, we have steadily increased the procurement of goods and services with diverse suppliers.

In 2008, Allstate spent $165.8 million with 1,978 veteran-, women- owned businesses. This amount represents 4 percent of Allstate's sourceable spend, meaning those expenditures for which an Allstate employee has the opportunity to influence the supplier used for a service or commodity. This performance places us in the top 25 percent of among our peer companies. We are committed to increasing our business with diverse suppliers again in 2009 and encourage diverse suppliers to complete the Prospective Supplier Registration process.