Supply Chain Laboratory Center of Excellence Strategic Plan. This plan is executable with the right mix of participants. The goal is to feature technology that drives the Supply Chain.

1. NEO Logistics and Supply Chain
Strategic Plan
Mission
Our mission is to create a Warehouse and Distribution Center of Excellence (WDCE) that prepares
individuals to enter the workforce and/or grow their careers by providing quality education and training
rooted in current industry practices and principles and bolstered by hands on experiences in laboratory
environments.
Objectives
• Assemble a Steering Committee consisting of Northeast Ohio businesses, educational
institutions and transportation, distribution and logistics (TDL) industry organizations who will
provide input and support that will help secure the grants and donations required to develop
the WDCE.
• Work with NEO business and industry to develop a curriculum with relevant learning objectives
• Develop a Warehouse and Distribution Center of Excellence (WDCE) that will contain state-of-
the-art material handling equipment, warehouse technology and logistics software needed to
maintain and raise the TDL acumen of NEO students and workforce participants.
• Secure fee-per-use agreements with NEO School Districts to send 11th and 12th grade students to
the WDCE for summer immersion and workforce development programs.
• Secure fee-per-use agreements with NEO Universities to send supply chain and engineering
students to the WDCE for 1-2 day practicums that bolster the classroom experience.
• Secure contract agreements with NEO businesses to conduct workforce training related to TDL
practices, material handling equipment, warehouse technologies and logistics software
packages.
• Work with the regional Workforce Investment Boards to match job seekers with job
opportunities and provide the training required to make them competitive during the candidate
selection process.
Operating Plan
NEO High Schools
Deliver summer immersion programs whereby the students become familiar with the Supply Chain
Management industry. These students would attend a 2-week training session and receive the benefits
and certifications designed therein. These students will have a chance to interact with college students
and industry professionals and ideally create relationships that result in financial gain. The tuition for
NEO school districts will be a mix of fee/use/student and tuition grants. The high school students
represent an entry level workforce for NEO businesses and a pipeline of students for NEO Community
Colleges and Universities.
NEO Universities
Work with NEO Universities to provide practicum experiences for their students that reinforce the
principles learned in the classroom. The practicum experience will be centered on training and
education related to the equipment in WDCE. The Universities will pay a fee/use/student and include it
in their tuition as a lab fee or as a 1 credit class. Undergraduate university students represent a
supervisory workforce pipeline for business and industry. Graduate university students represent a
managerial pipeline for business and industry.

2. NEO Businesses
Provide workforce development opportunities for NEO businesses that increase their capacity to meet
their operational objectives, adapt new technology and develop capital investment ROI cases.
Businesses will be assessed a fee/use for each training session.
NEO Workforce
Regional incumbent and dislocated workforce participants will have training and education
opportunities to enter or advance their careers in TDL related job functions. Entry level TDL job entrants
will receive training in the Warehouse Boot Camp program and incumbent workers will work towards
completion of the Short-Term certificate. Transitioning workers will be assessed the normal tuition rates
that will be subsidized by the WIA dollar allocation.
Warehouse and Distribution Center of Excellence (WDCE)
A regional training and education resource that gives students and businesses the opportunity to
interact with latest generation of material handling equipment, inventory management technology and
warehouse and transportation management software platforms. A consortium of NEO school districts,
community colleges, the 7 major universities and regional businesses will collectively own the WDCE and
will work collaboratively to seek donations and write grants. The core of the consortium will likely be the
membership of the WDCE Steering Committee.
This collaborative approach creates a strategic advantage because: (1) each grant dollar received can be
leveraged to benefit a larger group and should result in increased frequency of award receipts; (2)
equipment vendors will be compelled to make donations because of the significant branding
opportunities represented in DCLL users; (3) the cost to create, maintain, operate and repair a world-
class WDCE is prohibitive when attempted by a single organization; (4) creates relationships and
alignments that aren’t possible in silo operations often found among NEO organizations; and (5)
eliminates duplicity related to resource development in support of TDL training and education.
The WDCE would receive support from the Material Handling Institute of America (MHIA). The MHIA
globally represents vendors of material handling equipment, inventory management technology and
transportation and warehouse management software providers. With the help of MHIA, the consortium
will identify the right: (1) vendors to make donations; (2) curriculum to be taught in relation to the
equipment present; and (3) organization to develop the WDCE technical drawings depicting the
equipment layout. In addition to branding opportunities, vendors will have a neutral location to conduct
equipment function demonstrations and training for their potential clients. The WDCE benefits from this
type of vendor activity because visiting companies become familiar with the WDCE as a resource that
can support ‘TRY IT before you BUY IT’ and ROI decisions.

3. SWOT Analysis
Strengths
• Creating a regional resource reduces the burden on any one organization for maintenance,
repair and operation and increases laboratory sustainability
• Creating a regional consortium allows grantors and donors to impact a larger audience with
each
• Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s neutrality allows for equal representation of the
interests of all consortium members.
• Fundamental equipment that would be in the laboratory has remained functionally consistent
without significant changes in the last 10 years.
• Significant verbal commitment of support from Academic consortium participants.
Weakness
• A northerly location reduces ease of access for cohort participants in areas south of the
Cleveland Metropolitan Area.
• Sustainability relies on the continued commitment from consortium participants for laboratory
support and utilization.
• Technology changes require laboratory management to stay abreast of the changes and
negotiate equipment swaps with vendors.
•
Opportunity
• Development of a center-of-excellence
• Reduce the dependence of the Logistics and Distribution Institute on students with WIA funding
• Improve strength of grant applications by creating a larger circle of influence for grant dollars
received.
• Establish a foundation for the eventual creation of a statewide workforce training curriculum in
Warehouse and Distribution operations.
• Establish mentoring opportunities between High School students and college students and
business professionals
• Develop a pipeline of qualified individuals for business and industry
• Academic consortium members can leverage relationships with business and industry to provide
internship opportunities for their students.
• Create a collaborative model that can be utilized by other workforce development programs in
the State of Ohio.
Threats
• Start-up and operational costs too significant to allow for the creation of an economically
feasible model for consortium participants.
• Underutilization by Academic consortium participants due to low enrollment, non-relevant
learning outcomes and/or scheduling difficulties for their students.
• Underutilization by Business consortium participants due to low employment growth, low
turnover rates and/or non-relevant learning outcomes.
• Unavailability of learning grant dollars and equipment donations.
Milestones
• Create Warehouse and Distribution Center of Excellence (WDCE) Steering Committee
• Create an in-depth WDCE Strategic Plan and get consortium buy-in

4. • Create a short list of possible WDCE locations
• Secure WDCE Strategic Plan letters of support from consortium
• Present WDCE Strategic Plan and letters of support to MHIA leadership for approval
• Secure WDCE equipment ‘wish-list’ from Steering Committee
• Present equipment list to vendor community for equipment specifications
• Work with local Foundation offices to generate equipment donation requests
• Work with Sedlak Management to create warehouse layout design to develop space
requirement
• Present space request proposal to host organization leadership for approval
Diagram 1
WDCE

5. REVENUE
Students Total
NEO Customer Program Funding Tuition
Annually Revenue
Warehouse Boot
High Schools Camp Grant* 70 $1,200.00 $84,000.00
Community Warehouse Boot
Colleges Camp WIA 15 $1,200.00 $18,000.00
Warehouse Boot
Career Center Camp WIA 15 $1,200.00 $18,000.00
Short-term
LDI Students** Certificate Federal 15 $ -
University
Students*** 1-2 Day Practicum Federal 140 $350.00 $49,000.00
Businesses**** Contract Training Cash 100 $500.00 $50,000.00
Total 355 $219,000.00
*$250,000 grant to be utilized over a 3 year period
**Based upon OBOR Subsidy
*** Based upon 7 Institutions each sending 20 students
****Based upon 10 companies sending 10 students
ONGOING INSTITUTIONAL EXPENSES
Lab Equip. Total Net
Space Instructor Workbook
Supplies Maint. Expenses Income
$5,250.00 $700.00 $700.00 $6,650.00
$1,125.00 $150.00 $150.00 $1,425.00
$1,125.00 $150.00 $150.00 $1,425.00
$1,125.00 $150.00 $150.00 $1,425.00
$10,500.00 $1,400.00 $1,400.00 $13,300.00
$7,500.00 $1,000.00 $1,000.00 $9,500.00
$21,000.00 $35,775.00 $26,625.00 $3,550.00 $3,550.00 $90,500.00 $128,500.00
Space is figured at $6.00/sqft x 3500 sqft and includes utilities
Instructor is $25.00/hr x 1060hrs x1.35 benefit factor
Workbook is $75.00/student and provided by Material Handling Institute of America (MHIA)
Lab Supplies figured at $10.00/student and would include forklift fuel
Equipment Maintenance needs to be substantiated by vendor. Currently figured at $10.00/student
Sunk costs for site location despite activity in WDCE