When Jamie Crump was building her team at United Rentals, she recalls that the two departments she was building were often at odds with each other. Sourcing teams often complained that the supplier diversity group didn’t provide needed suppliers, while the latter department was equally frustrated with how sourcing was managed. To eliminate the fighting, Crump combined the two into one entity — Strategic Sourcing and Supplier Diversity.
Little did she know, 11 years later, that the tactical move would epitomize the skill set and expertise that Crump brings to her own consultancy’s clients and sets her apart from competitors.
“Because I have a career in both, I have a certain level of credibility with sourcing and (supplier) diversity. I can speak both languages and that helps drive successful objectives and results.”
Helping companies figure it out
Almost two years ago, Crump founded The Richwell Group to provide strategic sourcing and supplier diversity consulting and coaching services to corporate and certified diverse-owned businesses.
Although her expertise gives her the latitude to provide both services together, the firm’s service model focuses on four distinct areas: traditional corporate sourcing from strategy to a specific RFP; supply chain management for diverse-owned businesses, especially those with growing pains; corporate supplier diversity strategy and implementation for new or plateaued programs; and helping certified diverse-owned businesses leverage their certification.
Regarding the latter, Crump says: “A lot of companies work hard to get that certificate and then they ask, ‘How do I spend this?’
“I help them connect with the diversity and sourcing professionals who are not the end users, but are critical to taking them to the people they need to meet. Diverse-owned businesses have to help the professionals visualize where (their) product or service fits.”
Paying it forward
Another key differentiator for The Richwell Group is Crump’s membership in small- and women-owned business advocacy organizations. She’s an incoming member of the 2019 board of trustees for the National Small Business Association, a nonpartisan organization representing the voice of small business to government. Crump is also a founding member and Executive Director of the Global Council for the Advancement of Women in Procurement, dedicated to networking and developing the next generation of procurement professionals.
“I made a conscious decision to get involved and pay it forward,” she says.