Chamfr Earns WBENC Certification, Expanding Opportunities to Support Strategic MedTech Sourcing
Women-owned business certification strengthens Chamfr’s ability to help medical device OEMs and CDMOs simplify early-stage sourcing and increase access to qualified suppliers committed to helping speed product development.
Minneapolis, Minn., August 4, 2026 — Chamfr, the leading medical device sourcing platform built for product development, today announced its national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
“WBENC Certification creates an important opportunity for Chamfr to build stronger relationships with medical device OEMs that are focused on both supplier diversity and more efficient product-development sourcing,” said Julie Schulte, co-founder and CEO of Chamfr. “Our goal is to make Chamfr more accessible within enterprise purchasing processes so R&D and procurement teams can source all the products they need from hundreds of qualified MedTech suppliers through a single platform and purchase order.”
Chamfr helps engineers and procurement teams discover and purchase in-stock and custom components, equipment, tools, and services for early-stage medical device product development. By consolidating access to multiple suppliers through one sourcing platform, Chamfr reduces fragmented supplier searches, simplifies purchasing, and helps development teams move more efficiently from early prototyping toward design freeze.
The company plans to use its WBENC Certification to expand awareness among strategic OEMs and CDMOs, initiate procurement and supplier-diversity conversations, and explore opportunities to further streamline and digitize broader enterprise purchasing.
Chamfr was founded in 2017 by Julie Schulte and Katie Karmelek to address a persistent industry problem: medical device engineers often lack fast, reliable access to the components needed for early-stage product development. Drawing on experience in medical device manufacturing, product development, and commercialization, the founders saw engineers spending valuable time navigating disconnected supplier channels or relying on industrial alternatives not developed specifically for MedTech applications.
“We started Chamfr because engineers were spending too much time searching for products, requesting samples, and trying to figure out which suppliers could support their projects,” said Katie Karmelek, co-founder of Chamfr. “Our goal has always been to make sourcing easier and more transparent. Expanding Chamfr within OEM purchasing systems helps bring that access directly into the way engineering teams already work.”
WBENC Certification is nationally recognized by corporations and government entities seeking to engage verified women-owned businesses. It’s the largest third-party certifier that verifies a business is at least 51% women-owned, controlled, operated, and managed. The certification process includes a rigorous review of ownership, governance, management, financial documentation, and day-to-day operational control, as well as a site visit.
Medical device companies interested in discussing procurement access, supplier-diversity initiatives, or early-stage sourcing through Chamfr can contact support@chamfr.com.
About Chamfr
Chamfr is the leading medical device sourcing platform built for R&D, where engineers and procurement teams order from hundreds of qualified MedTech suppliers through a single marketplace and purchase order.
Sourcing from thousands of in-stock and custom components, equipment, tools, and services accelerates product development. Buyers get fast shipping, low to volume order quantities, make-to-order options, and digital custom request-for-quote (RFQ) capabilities on a single platform without relying on scattered supplier searches or non-qualified industrial alternatives.
Chamfr’s Resource Hub, including Medical Processing Panel (MPP) events, webinars, videos, podcasts, and technical guides and articles, educates medical device teams on all the possibilities to innovate and accelerate product development from early prototyping through design freeze.
Learn more at www.chamfr.com.
About WBENC
Founded in 1997, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council is the largest third-party certifier of women-owned businesses in the United States and a leading advocate for women entrepreneurs.
WBENC provides a national standard of certification through its Regional Partner Organizations. Its certification verifies that eligible businesses are at least 51% women-owned, controlled, operated, and managed through a rigorous process that includes business-documentation review and a site visit.
WBENC supports certified Women’s Business Enterprises through programming, professional development, networking, increased visibility, and connections with corporate and government purchasing decision-makers.
For more information, visit www.wbenc.org and www.buywomenowned.com.