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Rockwell Collins supports outreach
The company’s first focus is meeting its goals for
percentage of spend with diverse suppliers.
MBE APR Consulting is one of its most-valued suppliers
 Rockwell Collins (Cedar Rapids, IA) develops and deploys communications and aviation electronics solutions for both commercial and government applications. Amber Janey has been the company’s senior project manager for supplier diversity for the last two years.
Janey notes that the company’s supplier diversity program began in 1978, in compliance with legislation that required tracking of spending for government applications.
The original idea was to be sure the company met the spend requirements of government contracts. But about ten years ago the program’s focus shifted from simply reporting figures to being more proactive, Janey says.
The second piece is outreach
“Our supplier diversity strategy has two main focuses at this point. The first is meeting performance goals for the entire enterprise for percentage of spend with diverse suppliers. The second piece is outreach, which includes anything we do, either internally or externally, to help bring in more diverse suppliers,” Janey explains.
One important part of the outreach segment is Rockwell Collins’ formal mentor/protégée program with the Department of Defense. Diverse suppliers are offered help and advice in growing their businesses, assistance with implementation of lean processes, and help in working toward ISO-9000 and AS-9100 certification. The AS-9100, Janey notes, is a quality certification specifically used by the aerospace industry.
Informal mentoring also takes place. “We provide marketing and sales assistance. We help our diverse suppliers develop strategic forecasting. We’ll even offer engineering assistance for the final development of a product if necessary,” says Janey. She notes that just over half of Rockwell Collins’ yearly supplier spend is with small businesses, and the minority- and woman-owned subset is growing steadily. “We have steadily improved, relative to our goals, every year since 2004,” she declares.
Making the connection
Rockwell Collins connects with diverse suppliers in two main ways. The formal online registration channel is supplycollins.com, but suppliers may also send their certifications direct to Janey. She then works with sourcing teams and procurement folks to see if there are any business opportunities available for the applicants.
The company does not require third-party certifications for minority- or woman-owned businesses; it accepts self-certification. However, Janey does work through the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and the Small Business Association (SBA) to locate suitable diverse suppliers.
There’s also a second-tier requirement: large business suppliers with contracts of more than $550,000 must have their own supplier diversity goals and outreach programs in place.
“Small and/or diverse suppliers are critical components of our success,” Janey says. “They can often work more nimbly and respond more quickly to our needs than larger companies. They help us serve our customers better.”
APR Consulting offers IT and engineering staffing solutions
Erlinda R. Stone is president and CEO of staffing solutions company APR Consulting, Inc. Certified by the U.S. Small Business Admin as well as Southern California NMSDC, APR is a small M/WBE. It’s based in Diamond Bar, CA with regional offices in Irvine and Hermosa Beach, CA; Las Vegas, NV; Plano, TX; Atlanta, GA and Herndon, VA.
Stone started her business in 1976 with a depth of experience as a manager in a corporate IT department. In the beginning she offered just IT services, but engineering gradually entered the mix.
The company has been deeply involved in the aerospace, utilities and other industries for thirty years now. It provides successful candidates in software and aerospace engineering as well as IT, Stone explains. “In fact, about ten years ago we helped build a bus prototype for New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, providing design and project engineers through Northrop Grumman.”
Starting and growing
Like many successful entrepreneurs, Stone started her business out of her home. “But in 1989 I opened an office in Tustin, CA because I wanted to grow the company. I started marketing my business in southern California and then opened another office in Diamond Bar,” says Stone. She was able to expand her business when she was recommended to Rockwell Collins by another supplier. “Rockwell Collins was looking for small minority businesses to work with at the time. I was invited to make a presentation about our capabilities to a number of managers, and it worked out,” she says.
Getting large clients was key to Stone’s business growth. “It gave us a boost in our business and opened the door to other large corporations.”
Stone has a 1968 BS in elementary education from the Philippine Normal School (Manila, PI) and a 2000 MS in MIS from Claremont Graduate School (Claremont, CA).
Working with the business councils
In 2007 and 2009 Stone received the Southern California Minority Business Development Council (SCMBDC) supplier of the year award, which gave her scholarships to programs at the Anderson School of Management of the University of California-Los Angeles and the program at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH).
APR Consulting is certified by NMSDC and its chapters in Nevada, northern California and Georgia. Now Stone is applying to become a Corporate Plus member of NMSDC.
She’s also a board member of the SCMBDC and has twice chaired its minority business enterprise input community, and she’s a member of the NMSDC programs committee, and a co-founder and former president of the Asian Business Association of Orange County, CA. She currently serves on the advisory board of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County.
Doing business with Rockwell Collins
“Doing business with Rockwell Collins gave us the opportunity to offer our services outside California,” Stone says with deep satisfaction. “We now do work in Iowa and Texas for Rockwell Collins, and have a presence in a total of forty-two states through various other clients. It has definitely helped us to go national.”
Although its IT services are provided directly, APR’s engineering services are managed through Allegis Group Services (Hanover, MD) as the tier 1 supplier. “We’ve been doing business with them for years,” Stone says.
“Whether you’re first or second tier, Rockwell Collins is a very good company to work with.”
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