Supply Chain Management Expert Witnesses: 7

Rosemary Coates, President of Blue Silk Consulting, is a seasoned executive with an MBA and 35+ years of experience in Chinese Sourcing and Manufacturing, Global Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Manufacturing, Importing/Exporting, and ERP Systems Consulting.

Prior to BSC, Ms. Coates was a Senior Director at SAP, the Supply Chain Practice Leader at KPMG Peat Marwick and at Answerthink, and a Regional Manager at Hewlett-Packard. Ms. Coates has consulted with global and domestic clients, VCs, and PE firms on operations systems and processes. She has considerable international experience and has worked for extended periods in Asia and Europe.

Ms. Coates' experience spans a broad range of industries including High Technology, Software, Chemicals, Health Care, Consumer Products, Industrial Products, Food Distribution, Transportation, Publishing, Retail, and Oil and Gas. She has extensive knowledge and experience in manufacturing and outsourcing in Asia, Europe, and the US. She has written five Amazon.com books including Best Seller, 42 Rules for Sourcing and Manufacturing in China, and Legal Blacksmith: How to Avoid and Defend Supply Chain Disputes, and  42 Rules for Superior Field Service, and Negotiation Blueprint for Buyers, and The Reshoring Guidebook 

Ms. Coates is also the Executive Director of the Reshoring Institute and a member of the Board of Directors at the University of San Diego Supply Chain Management Institute. She teaches Global Supply Chain Strategy at UC Berkeley. She is a Licensed U.S. Customs Broker. She earned a BS in Business at Arizona State University and an MBA at the University of San Diego. She resides in Silicon Valley. 

Rosemary Coates: Supply Chain Management Overview

Litigation Support - As an Expert Witness, Ms. Coates has assisted attorneys in their understanding of relevant Supply Chain Operations and Practices in sourcing, logistics, distribution, manufacturing, inventory, and Chinese Imports. She has worked on legal cases for the past 10 years, writing reports, giving depositions, and testifying at trial.

Case Opinions:

• Chinese Products
• Import / Export Management
• Counterfeit Imports
• Project Management for Enterprise Software
• ERP Software Consulting Implementation Failures and Runaway Projects
• China Sourcing and Manufacturing
• Securities
• Sales Channel Distribution and Compensation
• Supply Contracts
• Inventory Tax
• Global Manufacturing Operations, Contract Manufacturing, CMS, EMS
• Transportation and logistics, 3PLs and Freight Forwarders, Freight Shipping

Areas of Expertise:

View Rosemary Coates' Consulting Profile.

Beat K. Schlumpf, FCILT,  is an Expert in European Supply Chain Management, Networks and Logistics. Mr. Schlumpf has over 40 years of experience in supply chain execution. He is one of the few experts worldwide with operative experience of all carriers (Sea, Air, Road, Rail) and all speeds (heavy lifts, general cargo, full load, parcel, express, mail, courier).

Mr. Schlumpf has extensive knowledge in a broad range of management assignments. He has experience and professional competence in distribution logistics for manufacturers, retailers, producers, forwarding and transportation companies as well as postal operators (textile, machinery, postal services, mail, parcel, express, and transportation industries.)

Litigation Support: Few lawyers deal with the legal aspects of the entire supply chain. They are mostly specialized in certain fields and lack an overall assessment. Mr. Schlumpf can help attorneys for plaintiff and defendant through complex supply chain management issues and applicable law. His services are available internationally.

Mr. Schlumpf has acted as an Expert at the UNCTAD and was featured speaker on practices and operation used by global freight logistics firms for the World Trade Organization (WTO) and lecturer for distribution logistics. He has published articles on outsourcing, one stop shopping, co-operation with forwarders and integrators, and new inventing Operations Audit to increase efficiency.

Areas of Expertise:

View GSL Consulting's Business Consultant Profile.

Summary

Stephen (Steve) T. Hopper, PE, is Founder and Principal of Inviscid Consulting. Over more than three decades, Steve has helped hundreds of clients plan and streamline their warehousing, logistics, manufacturing, and distribution operations by driving down operating costs, boosting capacity, improving service levels, mitigating risk, implementing effective supply chain solutions, emphasizing safety, and enhancing the performance of their supply chain resources: people, processes, inventory, facilities, equipment, material handling systems, transportation assets, and supply chain information technology (IT). He has worked with clients ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100 corporations.

Steve earned a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering (BIE) degree from The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and is a board-certified, licensed, registered Professional Engineer (PE). He has served as an expert witness on dozens of cases involving supply chain operations in the US, Canada, and Australia and has advised private equity and venture capital investors. He has also been interviewed by the supply chain industry media, authored articles for industry publications, and spoken at industry events.

Industry Experience

• 3PL / Outsourced distribution and fulfillment
• Apparel / Footwear
• Building materials
• Consumer goods
• Direct-to-consumer / Ecommerce / Catalog
• Food / Beverage / Grocery
• Furniture
• High-tech / Electronics
• Industrial / Automotive / Aerospace
• Mining / Drilling
• Pharmaceutical / Health and life sciences
• Rentals
• Retail
• Reverse logistics / Returns
• Wholesale / General distribution

Supply Chain Solutions Expertise

• Warehouse management systems (WMS)
• Warehouse control systems (WCS)
• Warehouse execution systems (WES)
• Slotting and order picking systems
• Transportation management systems (TMS)
• Labor management systems (LMS) 
• Order management systems (OMS)
• Voice and automatic identification systems
• Equipment, automation, robotics, and software used for handling, packaging, storing, and transporting materials
• Logistics network design & optimization software tools

Education, Certifications, and Associations

• Bachelor of Industrial Engineering (BIE), The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
• Board-certified, licensed, registered Professional Engineer (PE)

Jacob Sharony, PhD, MBA, has over 25 years of experience in Mobile and Wireless Technologies. He is currently an adjunct professor at Columbia University, teaching wireless technologies and applications. He also served as a faculty member of the electrical and computer engineering department and director of the Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology at Stony Brook University. Dr. Sharony held engineering and management positions in diverse technology disciplines at Time Warner Cable, Motorola, BAE Systems, NEC Research Institute, and IBM Research. He has over 50 US patents (pending and issued) and has served on several government expert panels.

Litigation Support - Dr. Sharony provides Patent and Class Action litigation support and expert consulting in mobile and wireless technologies. This includes patent infringement and invalidity analysis, FRAND analysis, writing expert reports, and deposition, and testimony in court. His deep knowledge of target markets, including telecom, healthcare, logistics, transportation, government, hospitality, mobile commerce and supply chain management, combined with extensive expertise in wireless and mobile technologies ensure innovative and successful solutions.

Areas of Expertise:

View Dr. Sharony's Consulting Profile.

Panorama Consulting Group specializes in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems and has multiple testifying experts for failed software litigation. This high-profile firm is called upon to investigate the feasibility of litigation, provide software expert witness testimony, and build background reporting for some of the industry’s highest-profile software lawsuits. They have worked with organizations ranging from multi-national conglomerates to boutique and large law firms, as well as state offices of the Attorney General.

As independent enterprise software experts, Panorama Consulting Group has hands-on experience with hundreds of software vendors. Their firm is not tied to a single law firm or software vendor, allowing them to focus on all types of clients and industries. 

Bill Baumann on Expert Witness Testimony

Litigation Support: The experts at Panorama Consulting Group work for both plaintiffs and defendants, software vendors and system integrators, and their customers. Their differentiator is using a team-based approach to provide expertise beyond just the testifying expert, which is cost-effective and efficient for their clients. They have multiple software expert witnesses available for provision of reports, depositions, and testimonies.

Allegations Addressed:

View Panorama Consulting Group's Consulting Profile.

Jo-Anne Daniels has been a International Trade and Transportation Industry consultant for over 25 years. She is the principal and founder of Trade Resources & Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in cross-border transactions, trade compliance, and transportation management.

Ms. Daniels has been a Licensed Customs Broker since 1987 and has experience leading global trade compliance and transportation for multinational corporations, such as, Micron Technology, Aviza, Inc., Flextronics (formerly Solectron), and Applied Materials. She is a frequent invited speaker for trade associations and logistics organizations. Ms. Daniels authored several industry publications and is the past President of the Professional Association of Exporters and Importers.

Litigation Support - Ms. Daniels is an experienced expert witness and has provided expert witness litigation services to both corporations and individuals. She is qualified to provide independent expert opinions, expert reports and declarations, and expert witness testimony at deposition in the matters of International Trade, U.S. Customs laws, U.S. Export Administration, and International Traffic in Arms Regulation and practice.

Areas of Expertise:

View Trade Resources & Associates' Consulting Profile.

Forty plus years in the Transportation Industry as a professional driver, small fleet owner to a Director of Safety, Consultant and Expert Witness. Ensure compliance with the FMCSA, PHMSA, TSA and OSHA Regulations.

Review records and materials, provide verbal consultation, opinions, and provide deposition and trial testimony when needed. Review records to screen potential cases for merit and identify case strengths. Provide verbal consultation to clients, unpacking complex concepts.