A free platform to connect small to medium-sized Connecticut suppliers with major corporations was launched Wednesday as Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced "another step forward" in improving efficiencies within the state.

The Connecticut Supplier Connection is expected to connect dozens of corporations with thousands of state suppliers having fewer than 500 employees and less than $50 million in revenues.

“We have taken a comprehensive approach to boost efficiency, nurture innovation and increase competitiveness with programs like Small Business Express,” Malloy said in a statement. “This new partnership is another step in our efforts to help our state’s small and diverse businesses have national reach, so they achieve the exposure needed to keep their businesses growing.”

IBM, which developed the program at no cost to participants, chose The Business Council of Fairfield County to take the lead in the public-private initiative. The Connecticut initiative will be tied to the national Supplier Connection platform, which reportedly helped small businesses gain access to $2 billion in revenues last year alone.

“Supplier Connection has been a runaway success in bringing large and small companies together, and this new partnership will help strengthen Connecticut businesses, create jobs and fuel economic growth,” said Stanley S. Litow, IBM's vice president of corporate citizenship and corporate affairs, in a statement.

Catherine Smith, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, said the initative will allow Connecticut companies to access new markets. The Business Council of Fairfield County will be working to recruit both buyers and sellers to expand the supply network.

Corporate members of the supply-chain initiative include Pfizer Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., AT&T, Citibank, Facebook and Pitney Bowes Inc. Connecticut’s UIL Holdings is expected to join its corporate brethren in the near future in the Supplier Connection.

In addition, the initiative includes a new Connecticut Supplier Connection Supplier Development Academy that will help educate small businesses about how to enter certain specialized procurement markets. The academy, initially offering courses in finance, manufacturing and operations excellence and marketing, will help small suppliers meet pre-qualification requirements of large buyers.

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow