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September 05, 2024

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Supplier development helps drive value in JPMC's supply chain

The supplier vetting and onboarding process at JPMorganChase (JPMC) is a rigorous one designed to hone potential supplier capabilities and create suppliers who excel.

“Our process is thorough, and we leave no stone unturned,” said Ted Archer, managing director and global head of business partner diversity at JPMorganChase. “As a result, we’re left with a diamond of a business partner who is set up for success.”

One of the diverse suppliers that has benefited from that process is Pinnacle Group, the largest Hispanic-owned contingent workforce solutions provider in North America.

Pinnacle became an IT and professional staffing supplier for JPMC in 2021 after an extensive request for proposal process. The company achieved No. 1 supplier status in its third full quarter of service to JPMC and has maintained that status in six of the nine quarters since then. More than 100 Pinnacle contractors have transitioned to full-time JPMC employment.

“JPMC was intentional throughout the process of searching for, selecting and engaging new diverse providers who were capable of serving a client of this scale and sophistication,” said Nina Vaca, CEO of Pinnacle Group. “Our success in the program is not only a testament to JPMC’s commitment to extending a contract and an opportunity to diverse suppliers to allow them to participate, but it’s also evidence of something much deeper — their commitment to create the conditions in which diverse suppliers can thrive.”

Archer said Pinnacle is a JPMC success story.

“Success for us is measured in the form of quantitative things such as increasing diverse spend,” he said. “It’s also measured in how our partners are scaling and growing over time. Pinnacle is a good example of how we measure both of those things. To see a firm leverage the relationship, really deliver against expectation in our supply chain and then grow over time is exciting.”

Focus on supplier development

Supplier development is a key component of JPMC’s overall strategy for driving value within the supply chain. The financial institution dedicates sourcing and business development professionals to work with suppliers to help them understand the procurement life cycle and to enhance their capabilities and business acumen.

Vaca said JPMC’s top-level commitment to increasing diverse spend while also helping its suppliers succeed has been clear throughout the JPMC and Pinnacle relationship. Strategies that Pinnacle found helpful included a focus on making sure capabilities and scale aligned with JPMC’s needs, active mentorship and coaching, proactive outreach to Pinnacle’s leadership team to share information and ensure alignment, targeted opportunities aligned with the company’s capabilities and transparency about Pinnacle’s performance.

“When a new supplier joins a program of long-tenured incumbent suppliers, the gaps in knowledge and relationships can be extremely challenging,” she said. “JPMC team members provided insight, guidance and time to mentor Pinnacle to succeed in their environment. And they have continued to nurture the relationship with quarterly check-ins and business reviews along the way.”

Archer said quarterly check-ins and reviews are key to JPMC’s supplier development efforts. These include not only typical check-ins on performance but also a chance for suppliers to talk with JPMC about challenges and growth plans.

“Whenever we can identify places where there are resources that can help address concerns, then we make it happen,” he said. “We identify places where we can close a gap. That could be technical things that are outside of the bounds of the specific project. It could be related to capital or addressing the need for access to bonding or insurance. Those are things that don’t always come up in a performance conversation, but those are things we try to understand so we can have a dialogue that leads to a relationship that grows over time.”

JPMC’s investment in supplier development has been key to Pinnacle’s success, Vaca said.

“By holding all suppliers in the program accountable to the same metrics and being clear about performance expectations, they allow capable diverse firms like Pinnacle to thrive,” she said. “Receiving valuable feedback from a client who is invested in your company’s success is a game-changer. For Pinnacle, this has been a living example of how firms get this right and how companies can truly achieve better business outcomes and increase diverse spend at the same time.”

Preparing for the opportunity

Becoming a supplier for a large firm such as JPMC often takes years of preparation.

“There are a number of factors to be ready as a firm to take on a large corporate project or corporate supplier relationship,” Archer said. “It can take quite a bit of cultivation over time because those opportunities aren’t always available when you are. Being ready for the opportunity is important.”

While Pinnacle became a JPMC supplier in 2021, the company’s cultivation of the relationship with the financial services firm began several years earlier when Vaca met JPMC’s head of supplier diversity and community engagement at an annual U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce meeting.

“The conversation went well and there seemed to be some good synergy, but at that moment there wasn’t a specific opportunity to work with JPMorganChase at that time,” Archer said. “Nina was persistent and thoughtful and nurtured that relationship over time. That led to her being ready when the opportunity presented itself.”

Vaca agrees. “Opportunities to work with companies like JPMC in a meaningful way don’t come along every day,” she said. “You have to prepare your organization, invest significantly in your internal scalability, advocate to make them happen and then consistently overdeliver once you’re there.”

Vaca’s advice to other companies who want to do business with firms such as JPMC includes investing in a capable service team, ensuring financial stability and implementing strong IT security practices.

“Once suppliers secure a contract with a large company, it’s also important that they are adaptable to respond to changing demands as well as ready to take on new opportunities that arise either with the company itself or with other firms within the supply chain,” Archer said.

To learn more about JPMChase’s supplier diversity program, visit jpmorganchase.com/about/suppliers/supplier-diversity.

To learn more about Pinnacle Group, visit pinnacle1.com.