It has been well established that having a diverse and inclusive workforce increases results and employee satisfaction, so why wouldn't' the same be true for companies that invest in building a diverse supply chain? That question is the one that started Jaime Crump down the path to become a supplier diversity expert and consultant.

Jamie is the president of The Richmond Group where she provides consulting and coaching services to corporate and certified diversity-owned businesses in the areas of strategic sourcing and procurement strategies, supplier diversity initiatives, and optimizing the leverage of a diversity certification.

Although supplier diversity programs are well-intentioned, they also have to be good for business, and as Jaime points out, there is a lot of research highlighting the correlations between a more diverse supply base and quantitative business improvement. The American Sociological Review, Harvard Business Review, and McKinsey have all studied the issue and found strong evidence to support true supply chain diversification.

In this interview, Jamie explains:

• Why the majority of diversity spend is associated with indirect suppliers.
• How stakeholders (or distributed buyers) are ultimately the ones with the power to make the greatest difference in supplier diversity.
• The fact that the effort to ensure supplier diversity is never done, and why it can't be put on 'cruise control.'