Matthew Olson, integrated supply management major and senior in the Lee Honors College, presented “A Salute to Our Veterans: What the Military and Business Taught Each Other,” at a joint professional development meeting of the Institute of Supply Management and The Association for Operations Management (APICS) organizations in Indianapolis, Indiana. Olson shared his experiences in military history and logistics, along with information from his Honor's College theses, "Army Supply Chain Management: Trends and Parallels With Industry." He presented in conjunction with Ken Jones, Ivy Tech Community College – Central Indiana, CPSM, C.P.M., and member of the Integrated Supply Management program’s executive council. The audience included business professionals, students and faculty of nearby universities, members of the Marine Corps and even a WMU alumnus.
Olson highlighted his recent experiences with the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Command (TACOM) Life Cycle Management Command (LCMC), and how the Army supply chain is rapidly responding to changes in the military environment. As part of the presentation, he drew parallels to business in the areas of product development, procurement and logistics.
“Matt has had unique learning experiences during his two internships with the US Army TACOM LCMC during two summer internships,” says Dr. Bret Wagner, associate professor of management and director of the integrated supply management program.
“Combined with his Honor's College research project, this experience provided him a valuable perspective on supply management in the military. The event offered him an opportunity to share this knowledge and experience with the business community," says Wagner.
“Matthew represented WMU extremely well,” says Jones, “and his presentation received high marks from attendees. One attendee commented, ‘I thought the gentleman from WMU was excellent! He should give his presentation to other ISM/APICS chapters in the region.’ This comment summed up the general sentiment from all meeting participants.”
Olson will receive his bachelor's degree from WMU – Lee Honors College next week with a minor in Law. After graduation, he plans to continue his employment with the U.S. Army TACOM LCMC in southeastern Michigan..
