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A Message from our President & CEO

Dear Colleague,

The work of The Mid-South Business Continuum (The Continuum) rests on a simple conviction: when the region's largest buyers and its most capable local suppliers are connected inside one trusted network, everyone gains. Today that conviction is more than a mission, it is measurable procurement value

The Continuum is the Memphis region's procurement infrastructure. We connect public and private sector organizations with a vetted, scalable base of local Small Business Enterprises (SBEs) across more than 70 industries and we build the programs, pipelines, and relationships that turn those connections into awarded contracts, shorter sourcing cycles, and a supply chain that can withstand disruption.

What we offer your enterprise is a two-way partnership engineered to impact the bottom line: supply chain expansion, sourcing efficiency, peer-to-peer best-practice sharing, and a contractor and supplier pipeline you can operationalize. The return shows up exactly where the C-suite measures it in cost avoidance, cycle-time reduction, Tier 2 compliance, and resilience.

The results tell the story. Over the most recent four-year period, our network supported 9,705 jobs, helped direct $1.42 billion in contracts to local suppliers, and grew the regional contract pipeline by 294%. Each of those outcomes began with a single corporate partner deciding that a stronger local supply base was good business.

I invite you to join the more than 100 corporate members, partners, and sponsors, who have already made The Continuum part of how they source. Your partnership strengthens your supply chain and, at the same time, builds lasting economic capacity across Memphis and Shelby County the rare investment that your company and the region at once.

I look forward to building a stronger more resilient economy with you.

Warm regards,

President and CEO

The Mid-South Business Continuum

A Partnership Built for the Bottom Line

The Mid-South Business Continuum is the Memphis region's primary procurement infrastructure, connecting public and private sector buyers with a vetted, scalable base of local Small Business Enterprises (SBEs) across more than 70 industry classifications. For corporate partners, it is a two-way sourcing relationship engineered to expand competition, compress sourcing cycles, and strengthen the supply chain, producing real, measurable, and sustainable economic gains for both the enterprise and the region.

When enterprise demand and qualified local supply meet inside one trusted network, both sides win: buyers - lower cost and risk, suppliers - scale and job creation, and the region builds durable economic capacity that compounds year over year.

Four Core Competencies Supporting Your Supply Chain

1 Supply Chain Expansion

Broaden and de-risk your supplier base with pre-qualified, scalable small businesses sourced by industry access nearly 700 certified suppliers spanning 70+ classifications, ready to compete for addressable spend.

Peer-to-Peer Networking & Best Practice Sharing

Senior procurement leaders exchange standards, benchmarks, and pipeline intelligence through our APEX and Corporate Resource Committee (CRC), a private peer network for what works.

Sourcing Efficiency

Move from requirement to qualified bidder faster through curated matchmaking, targeted RFP/RFQ distribution, and a continuously maintained supplier directory, less time vetting, more time awarding.

4

Contractor / Supplier Pipeline Implementation

Stand up and operationalize Tier 2 programs and developmental pipelines with your national vendors turning capable SBEs into contract-ready, audit-ready suppliers in your system.

What Your Investment Returns

Every dollar in corporate dues and sponsorship support is structured to come back as measurable procurement value. The Continuum partnership is designed around four returns that matter to the C-suite.

RETURN 1

Cost Avoidance

More qualified competitors and credible alternatives lower total cost of ownership and reduce singlesource premiums.

$1.42B

RETURN 2

Cycle Time Reduction

Prepared, matched suppliers shorten time-to-award and remove friction from the sourcing pipeline.

9,705

RETURN 3

Tier 2 Compliance Turnkey programs and reporting that satisfy customer, contractual, and regulatory Tier 2 supplier requirements.

RETURN 4

Supply Chain Resilience

A deeper, local, supplier base absorbs disruption and keeps continuity when global lanes fail.

*Figures from The Continuum's 2022–2025 Economic Impact Dashboard, modeled against BLS, BEA, and published regional benchmarks.

For Public Sector Partners: Every $1M in contract revenue directed to local suppliers generates roughly $44K in state and local income tax plus an estimated $117K in sales tax from worker spending, converting procurement dollars into recurring public fiscal capacity. Locally owned independent firms also recirculate 2.6–3.7× more per dollar in the regional economy than non-local firms.

A Two-Way Partnership, measured both ways

The relationship is intentionally reciprocal. Corporate partners gain sourcing capacity, resilience, and compliance; local small business enterprises gain access, scale, and revenue. The result is mutual economic gain and a regional supply base that grows stronger, and more valuable to your enterprise, every year.

An Economic Accelerator for Local Supply

The Continuum is an economic accelerator for local Small Business Enterprises (SBEs) that connects capable suppliers with the Mid-South's largest public and private sector organizations. As the region's premier local small business organization, The Continuum builds innovative programs and services that produce results and institutionalizes them inside your procurement operation.

Gain access

As a private or public buyer, The Continuum helps you access scalable SBEs by industry; distribute and communicate procurement opportunities through RFPs and RFQs; formulate a written supplier engagement policy and program; form joint ventures with SBEs; build secondtier (Tier 2) SBE programs with your major national vendors; and develop SBEs through your own developmental or incubator process. We also help you enhance and institutionalize supplier-engagement and Tier 2 compliance across the enterprise.

Corporate membership

The Continuum has developed a “new model” approach to supplier base expansion partnering with corporations to identify opportunities and deliver business solutions that add value and produce efficiencies. As a corporate partner, you join more than 100 local, national, and global corporations, partners and sponsors seeking to do business with capable local SBEs. Corporate services can be customized to help implement your policies or achieve strategic priorities; fee-based services are available for complex and broad-based scopes of work.

How a Strategic Partnership Works

Define & Align

We map your spend categories, Tier 2 targets, and sourcing priorities to the SBE supplier base.

Connect & Qualify

Matchmakers, the CED directory, and RFP distribution puts SBEs in front of your buyers.

Measure & Scale

We track awards, cycle time, and Tier 2 compliance then build the pipeline that scales results.

The Journey to Success: sustained access to a qualified local small business supplier base is a competitive advantage in cost, in speed, in compliance, and in resilience. Your partnership with this organization is how that advantage is built and maintained.

Leverage Corporate Partnership

A toolkit built for procurement and supply chain leadership. Each service is customizable to support and achieve your sourcing strategy.

Small Business Database:

Corporate Efficiency Directory (CED)

An online database of nearly 700 certified local small business enterprises (SBEs) across more than 70 industry classifications, searchable by capability and spend category.

Matchmakers

A curated process that lets purchasing teams meet one-on-one with only those SBEs that fit a specific scope of work or supplier requirements, and the ability to see their operations firsthand.

Model Corporation Initiative

A supplier-engagement model with proven outcomes that strategically improves corporate performance, with supplier base expansion as a primary catalyst.

Corporate Resource Committee (CRC)

A working committee where purchasing professionals exchange ideas and share upcoming contract opportunities for Small Businesses.

Consultative Services

Focused engagement to build a formal, company-wide strategic sourcing plan that strengthens your supplier base, Tier 2 participation, community investment, and internal sourcing policies and governance.

RFP Distribution

A targeted method to maximize RFP/RFQ reach to qualified SBE bidders across the local market.

Alliance for Purchasing Excellence (APEX)

A group of senior purchasing, procurement, professionals, and ESG leaders advancing best practices in supplier base expansion and small business scalability.

SBE Technical Assistance & Core Development

Through The Mid-South TADP, suppliers receive the core development and operational support that makes them enterprise-ready before they connected.

Capacity Building Behind the Supply Base

The Mid-South TADP (TADP) is the 501(c)(3) sister organization to The Continuum. The TADP provides business resources to local Small Business Enterprises (SBEs), designed and structures to improve their foundational structure, operations & systems, practices, efficiency, and effectiveness. Services include management and financial readiness consulting, human resource management, proposal and contract review, risk mitigation (bonding and insurance), joint venture coordination, legal services, marketing strategy development, accounting and bookkeeping, strategic planning, turnaround management, business valuation, and wealth management.

Where Partners and Suppliers Connect

High-value convenings that turn relationships into contracts and visibility into outcomes.

Economic Development Forum ANNUAL EVENT

Robert R. Church, Sr. Achievement Awards

EDF FINALE

Holiday Business Mixer

YEAR-END

Technical Assistance & Development

Training

YEAR-ROUND · MID-SOUTH TADP

Each year, The Continuum convenes national thought leaders, representatives from all levels of government, corporate representatives, local small businesses, the business economic and advocacy ecosystem, and the greater community. The Forum has:

– Featured national thought leaders and renowned speakers sharing research and data supporting the case for SBE engagement, corporate procurement policy, and economic strategy.

– Presented federal, state, and local policy positions that advance corporate and SBE procurement engagement.

– Amplified proven corporate and SBE sourcing strategies.

– Provided hundreds of face-to-face corporate-to-SBE procurement connections in the Exhibition Hall.

– Facilitated millions of dollars in post procurement connections.

The annual meeting and finale of the Economic Development Forum celebrates the commitment and intentionality of corporate partners and the achievements of scalable local small businesses Supporting local suppliers has a proven positive impact on a corporation's bottom line and the communities those suppliers sustain through job creation.

Close the year connecting with fellow corporate partners and SBEs at the annual holiday business mixer building relationship capital for future business opportunities.

Ongoing capacity-building delivered through The Mid-South TADP, the engine that prepares SBEs to perform and scale, from bonding and proposal review to strategic planning and turnaround support. SPONSORSHIP

The Economic Development Forum: High-Visibility Entry Point

A Forum sponsorship places your brand before regional and national procurement leadership, government representatives, and hundreds of contract-ready SBEs, and opens access to a ready pipeline that has facilitated millions of dollars in post-event procurement connections.

Three Ways for Partnership Engagement:

Your support enhances your ability to do business with a broader base of capable local suppliers and is designed to optimize your engagement with certified SBEs. Combine selections on a single invoice or request separate invoices for each commitment.

Corporate Membership

Annual corporate dues

unlocking the full suite of sourcing services, including directory (CED) access, Matchmakers, RFP distribution, APEX, and the Corporate Resource Committee (CRC)

Economic Development Forum Sponsorship

Premier visibility before regional and national procurement leadership, plus direct access to the Exhibition Hall sourcing pipeline of qualified SBEs.

Build the Partnership that Supports your Success

After reviewing the membership information, programs, and supplier events, tell us what best aligns with your goals and objectives. Our team is prepared to develop a customized plan highlighting member services and sponsorship benefits

Corporate Engagement & Sponsorships

Year-round program and event sponsorships, including taxdeductible contributions through the Mid-South TADP which is aligned to support your sourcing objectives.