Omar Keith Helferich, Ph.D.

EDUCATION

Doctor of Business Administration, Michigan State University, 1970

Major Fields: Operations, Production, and Quantitative Methods, Management Systems/Operations

Minor Fields: Logistics, Systems, Marketing

Dissertation:  Dynamic Simulation of Physical Distribution Systems." Use of event-oriented dynamic simulation modeling to evaluate total logistics cost/service trade-offs. Sponsored by Johnson and Johnson.

Co-Chairs:  Professor Donald J. Bowersox - Major focus logistics;  Professor Richard Gonzales - Major focus operations management and quantitative methods.

M.B.A. Major in Quantitative Methods, University of Michigan

M.S. Civil Engineering (Environmental), University of Michigan

B.S .Civil Engineering, University of Michigan

BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

Supply Chain Sustainability LLC (Okemos, MI) 2009-Current

Partner with Supply Chain Sustainability to provide assessment and web risk based solutions to mitigate risk in domains of environment, quality, safety and security.

Food Industry Experience Summary: Partial list of assignments covers the following organizations: American Red Cross, Borden Foods, Burger King, Coca Cola, Dole, Hershey, Kraft, Nabisco, Nestle, Pepsi Cola, Planters, Smuckers, Sysco Foods, Tillie Lewis Foods, and US Navy.

Central Michigan University (Mount Pleasant, MI) 2003-Current

Supply Chain Faculty within the College of Business Administration Marketing & Hospitality. Teach introduction to supply chain management. Also teach the capstone logistics/ supply chain management course for graduating seniors that requires students to develop an order cycle improvement project for an actual company. The project must utilize project charter templates, project management software, Visio process mapping, six sigma tools, Power Point presentation software and weekly status reports. Courses taught on main campus (MKT 330) Marketing Channels (2 courses); (MKT 397E) (Sustainable Enterprise (2 courses); (MKT 465) Supply Chain Management (4 courses). Project leader for Clean Drinking Water Initiative for India working with Rotary Clubs and other NGOs and industry.

GSC Mobile Solutions (Okemos, MI) 2004-2007

Senior Project Management and research consultant specializing in the domains of food security and environmental control. Project work included food supply and defense research to maximize resilience and minimize risk for national food supply under major disaster/terrorist incidents. Supply protection and defense through quality management systems. Project manager for a wireless enterprise quality system initiative that provides state of the art food service provider, environmental, marine, and public safety field inspection and control. Also project manager for food protection and safety initiatives with deliverables of Security Standards and Incident Management Infrastructure. These initiatives were conducted as part of the Michigan State University research team deliverables funded through the Department of Homeland (DHS) Security National Center for Food Protection and Safety (NCFPS). This assignment has provided Dr. Helferich with the opportunity to provide presentations in the USA as well as the UAE on state of the art hand held inspection solutions.

Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI) 2004-2007

Member of the MSU research team funded through the Department of Homeland Security National Center for Food Protection and Defense. Dr. Helferich was involved on the research team for the initiative to assess the status of security preparedness of the US food supply network from “farm to fork”. In addition, he served as project leader for two additional initiatives through the MSU grant. The first was to develop security standards for the total food supply network; the second was to define the needs for information technology to support the nation in prevention of and response to major terrorist incidents that target the US food supply. The research will be utilizing multiple survey instruments and other tools for the analysis, findings review and final recommendations. The grant was for three years . The research grant started in the fourth quarter of 2004 and has provided the opportunity for Dr. Helferich to deliver presentations to several academic and industry representations. The research offers excellent potential for future presentations and articles.

Integrated Strategies, Inc. (East Lansing, MI) June 1998- 2002

Vice President and senior chain management consultant specializing in process (food, chemical, pharmaceuticals, etc.) and utility industries. Emphasis on strategic and tactical design of improved supply chain systems from purchasing through production to and including the distributors/retail and final consumer. Expert in application of decision support tools/process improvement tools to achieve superior global supply chain performance. Lead supply chain professional on a total supply chain re-design for a food distribution system that involved over 8000 food consumption points.

American Red Cross (Various) 1990-Current

Volunteer Consultant in Disaster Relief and Biomedical Products. Major research study completed for the American Red Cross to assess and improve the effectiveness of the organization’s feeding process for major disasters. The study involved use of email survey instruments, direct interviews and telephone interviews to assess current feeding methods and procedures. The one year study has been completed and accepted by the American Red Cross. The final task currently in process is to implement the recommendations. The study resulted in presentations to Red Cross Headquarters with a three part final report consisting of an Executive Summary Power Point presentation, a detailed (over 100 pages) final report plus a detailed copy of the supporting appendices. Completed Hurricane Ike Disaster Feeding Process Assessment October 2008 involving Red Cross, Southern Baptist, FEMA, Texas and US Foods.

Disaster response volunteer for the American Red Cross. Primary emphasis is as logistics coordinator on national disasters (floods, hurricanes-Katrina, tornado, earthquake, terrorist incidents (WTC 2001, Oklahoma Bombing 1995), etc.). Instructor for American Red Cross in logistics and mass care. Involved in development of logistics training survey and materials for National ARC in Washington. Member of advisory board for a food distribution center that provides food as one of the Second Harvest food distribution points within the USA. Developing an international logistics disaster response case for use in university class plus potential for training disaster logistics relief workers. Member of the Critical Response Team for WMD and commercial transportation incidents.

Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI) 1992-1998

Director of outreach program for approximately 500 students in purchasing, operations, and logistics management. Responsibilities for scholarship, internship, work study and placement. Also involved in environmental tradeoffs and process re-engineering using dynamic simulation. Teaching experience in operations management, management science, management information systems, and organizational behavior. Major research lead in evaluation of storage and distribution for basic USDA relief efforts.

Dialog Systems Division, A.T. Kearney, Inc.  (East Lansing, MI)  1988-1992

Managing Director/Principal/Vice President. Responsible for problem definition and solution execution for industrial situations in operations management, logistics, and customer service requiring state-of-the-art information technology (information systems, simulation, artificial intelligence, mathematical programming). Major emphasis in design and tactical evaluation of supply chain/logistics for food, pharmaceuticals, electronics, parts, and chemicals.

Dialog Systems, Inc. April 1983-March 1988.

Co-Founder/Vice President/President. Management responsibilities for use of information technology (systems, quantitative methods, expert systems) applied to operations management and logistics. Customer base included Fortune list food, beverage, chemical, agricultural and pharmaceutical companies. Also developed PC-based software products in logistics, marketing, and operations. Projects started with information systems requirements through functional/programming specifications to design/development and implementation (MRP, DRP, JIT, QM, inventory management, order management, production scheduling, materials management, and engineering design). Dialog Systems received the Michigan Technology Council Achievement Award for Small Technology Firm in Michigan in 1988.

Michigan State University  (East Lansing, MI)  1983

Instructor. Taught undergraduate (senior level) class in Manufacturing Systems for the Management Department at Michigan State University. Used the text, Manufacturing Planning and Control Systems by Thomas E. Vollman, William Berry, and D. Clay Whybark, Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1984.

Cleveland Consulting Associates, Inc., June 1975-March 1983.

Vice President and Board of Directors. Consulting to provide productivity improvement to operations and logistics management for Fortune list food, chemical, agricultural, electronics and pharmaceutical companies. Solutions required a broad range of information technologies (MRP, CIM, DRP, inventory models, vehicle routing and scheduling, production planning and scheduling, facilities layout, and network planning). DSS utilized a range of mathematical programming, simulation, and other quantitative methods.

Systems Research Inc. (Lansing, MI) 1971- 1975.

Director of logistics systems and operations management consulting. Projects included use of information technologies such as design methodologies, systems, mathematical programming, and simulation. Also performed review to evaluate commercial potential for environmental treatment products.

Graduate School of Business, Michigan State University  (East Lansing, MI) September 1970-June 1971

Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Marketing and Transportation. Responsible for teaching of statistics and other basic courses related to logistics and operations.

Doctoral Program, Michigan State University  (East Lansing, MI) 1968-1970. Graduate Assistant teaching in operations management and systems.

Industrial Nucleonics, Inc. 1966-1967

Staff engineer with responsibilities for production planning and scheduling, and project leadership in manufacturing, engineering and accounting information systems.

M.B.A. Program, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)  June 1965-1966.

Westinghouse Atomic Power Division, March 1964-May 1965.

Systems and process control engineering (hydraulics, electrical, nuclear, structures, mechanical) for review of nuclear power stations.

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Contractors, October 1959-1964.

Industrial process, applied research, and environmental engineering projects for nuclear medicine, weapons testing, radiation biology, radiochemistry, and other atomic energy scientific projects.

U.S. Army, March 1959-October 1959.

Commissioned Officer in missile program.

PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS/EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

Council of Logistics Management Seminar. Designed and conducted a multiple day seminar on supply chain security in the Washington DC area for business professionals- 2003-2005.

Council of Logistics Management Annual Meetings. Over the past fifteen years, presented in most of the annual meetings. Topics included supply chain security, information systems technology, dynamic simulation, computer modeling, decision support systems, & A.I. /knowledge-based systems.

Customer Service Executive Development Seminars, Michigan State University. Presented every year since the annual program started in 1985. Topics included supply chain security, artificial intelligence/information technology and knowledge transfer applied to achieve customer satisfaction.

Institute for Water and Wastewater Utility Management, Michigan State University, 1971-1980. Developed a curriculum to enhance management skills for supervisors of water and wastewater utilities. The program was first taught on campus at Michigan State University, University of Washington, and University of Maryland. The course was revised through support of the EPA to use as a correspondence program. Several thousand students have now completed this course. It is still provided through MSU Continuing Education.

Logistics Executive Development Seminars, Michigan State University, 1985-Current. In 1991 received recognition for fifteen continuous years on the seminar faculty. Topics included information technology, decision support systems, artificial intelligence, and knowledge for competitive advantage. Presentations on supply security and sustainability from 2002-Current.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS

Aion Corporation User Meetings on Artificial Intelligence

American Society of Industrial Security

American Production and Inventory Control Society

American Society of Transportation and Logistics

Automotive EDP Council

Canadian Physical Distribution Council

Engineering Society of Detroit

Grocery Manufacturers Association

Help Desk Institute

Institute of Electronics Engineers

Institute of Industrial Engineers

Institute of Management Science/Operations Research Society

National Association of Accountants

Operations Management Association

Society of Logistics Engineers

Systems and Procedures Association U.S. Department of Defense Logistics Agency/Joint Chiefs of Staff

Warehousing Education Research Council

INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Project manager for enterprise quality management system to enhance food, environmental, marine, public safety and pest control for a government in the UAE- current

Supply chain consultant and seminar director for private corporation in Columbia South America. 2004.

Air Cargo World. "Making the Connection," an article published in Air Cargo World. Authors are Omar Keith Helferich and Laurie A. Taylor, August 1987.

European Logistics Management Program. Instructor in three annual programs at the de Baak Institute (Amsterdam), Holland. Presentations were to European business executives on the topics of information systems, computer models, and system design.

International Engineering Congress in Berlin, Germany, Presentation: "Systems Design."

International Export Software. "Ready to Export? Expert Software Promises an Answer," Interview with Omar Keith Helferich for Industry Week, September 1990. This ongoing research also involves Kennen International, a new technology-based company; and the International Business Development Center at Michigan State University.

Japanese Management Groups. Presented sessions on artificial intelligence applied to business for two groups who were on educational tours of the United States.

Japanese Translation. Putting Expert Systems to Work in Logistics, co-authored by Omar Keith Helferich and Mary K. Allen, is being translated into Japanese by contract of a United States publisher and a Japanese agency.

Tokyo. Presented three seminars in Tokyo to advertising, computer (NEC) and distribution companies on the subject of artificial intelligence software applied to business.

UNIVERSITY RESEARCH COMMITTEES/ACTIVITIES

Doctoral Committee, Michigan State University (initiated in 2005) for student developing a dissertation on security of our national food supply.

Michigan State University, involved in supply chain security research to study methods to improve the national food supply protection and defense. The work is a grant through the Department of Homeland Security.

Central Michigan University Faculty. Provide technical input to Robert L. Cook, Professor, Central Michigan University, on his research project, "Help Desk," which is to develop expert systems for international trade.

Doctoral Thesis Committee, Michigan State University (started in 1987) for Stephen J. Schon, candidate for Ph.D. in Computer Science. Degree to be completed in mid-1992. Thesis topic: "Knowledge Level Purposeful Evolution in the Selection of Diverse Scheduling Problems."

Doctoral Thesis Review: "The Development of An Artificial Intelligence System for Inventory Management," Mary K. Allen, The Ohio State University, 1986. Served as an outside review person for Dr. Allen's research.

Masters Thesis Committee: "An Expert System Application to the Inspection Analysis of Proper Printing Quality in a Package Printing Company," M.S., Michigan State University School of Packaging, Yoshinori Ueda, 1991.

Michigan State University Subcontractor. Manager and consultant for ongoing research as a subcontractor to Michigan State University on a U.S. Department of Education contract. The project objective is to develop expert systems software to assist U.S. businesses in international trade. Currently working with the National Association of Manufacturers as a potential user of the software.

Small Business innovative Research (SBIR). Overall manager for six SBIR proposals. Successful in three Phase I Contracts for: 1) Artificial Intelligence for the U.S. Navy Inventory Management; 2) Artificial Intelligence for the U.S. Navy's Rapid Acquisition Manufacturing Program (RAMP); 3) Artificial Intelligence for the U.S. Army Packaging Design.    All three projects were approved for Phase II. Money was allocated for the inventory   project (included as a logistics case study in Appendix C of Putting Expert Systems to  Work in Logistics). The SBIR proposals involve ties with Michigan State University and small high-technology start-up companies.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

American Association of Artificial Intelligence, past member.

Committee for the Detroit annual conference.

American Production and Inventory Control Society, past member.

Council of Logistics Management, member.

National/International presenter. Co-founded the first chapter of the Michigan Council of Logistics Management Roundtable.

MERRA, previous Member of the Board

Non-profit organization to promote economic development for Michigan through cooperative research. Assignments include assisting small businesses with research contracts.

Michigan Technology Council, past member of Computer Integrated Manufacturing Committee. Board of Directors for several years in Mid-Michigan.

Operations Management Association, past member.

Board of Directors for one year.

Production and Operations Management Society, past member.

Society of Logistics Engineers, past member.

Presenter at national meetings. Former Vice President of Materials, Operations, and Distribution.

The Institute of Management Science, past member.

Presented at several annual meetings.

OTHER BUSINESS ACTIVITIES

American Red Cross. Provide volunteer services (operations and systems) to assist in local/state/national disasters. Plan to evaluate the use of knowledge-based and other artificial intelligence systems technology for damage assessment, logistics, and operations for use during disaster recovery.

Kennen Group/Kennen International, past Board of Advisors. A five year old Michigan-based company dedicated to the application of computer science (communications, artificial intelligence, and database technology) to business/government. Projects include operations scheduling and artificial intelligence software for international business.

Rosencode Inc., past Board of Directors. A small Michigan-based company dedicated to improving engineering design productivity through bondgraphing software.

ACADEMIC HONORS AND AWARDS

Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering, 1957.

E. Grosvenor Plowman Award, Best Paper at National Annual Transportation and Logistics

   Educators Conference.

Phi Kappa Phi National Honorary, Michigan State University, 1969.

Regents Award, University of Michigan, 1954.

U.S. Public Health Service Grant, 1958 to pay for MS in civil/sanitary/environmental engineering degree