Blog: City Blog

Warehouse Manager Almost Always Buys From Small Businesses

Last spring, the onset of the pandemic severed the normal supply chains that reliably bring materials into our area. So for a few weeks, the City of Knoxville resorted to purchasing disinfectant and cleaning supplies from an out-of-state company when they couldn't be found locally.

Ben Buckner, Logistics and Supply Manager in the City's Public Service Department, hated that. He switched back to buying from small companies in Knoxville as quickly as possible.

Whenever he can, he buys everything locally. It's more than a goal: In the last fiscal year that just ended June 30, 81 percent of all supplies going into the City's warehouse were purchased from Diversity Business Enterprises, or DBEs - small businesses, or those owned by women, minorities and service-disabled veterans.

"This helps support small businesses," Buckner says. "It puts money back into the local economy."

Ben Buckner, Logistics and Supply Manager, drives a forklift at the warehouse he oversees.

Buckner, an 18-year City employee who's managed the warehouse for four years, was honored last year with the City's DBE Employee Advocate Award.

He knows from first-hand family experience how important small businesses are to their communities, and how patronizing home-town companies can make a difference. His father, a retired printer, ran a small business in another state.

"According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy," says Pamela Cotham, the City's Assistant Purchasing Agent and head of the Small Business and Diversity Outreach Office. "Small businesses account for 44 percent of all economic activity.

"I applaud Ben Buckner and his staff for going the extra mile and being intentional in where they purchase supplies for the Public Service warehouse. Ben's efforts to be more inclusive in sourcing supplies is why he was recognized last year by his peers with the 2019 DBE Employee Advocate Award."

Buckner and his crew stock more than 300 items used by the Public Service Department - everything from hand tools, power tools and chainsaws to bottled water and cleaning supplies. These are small purchases, beneath the City's threshold requiring competitively-bid contracts.

"Because these are small items, most of what the City warehouse purchases comes from mom-and-pop stores," he says. "We're reinvesting in our local economy when we support small businesses."

Tylor Eubanks checks inventory in the Public Service Department warehouse.

Posted by evreeland On 14 August, 2020 at 10:59 AM