Stephen T. Hopper, PE

Stephen (Steve) T. Hopper, PE, is Founder and Principal of Inviscid Consulting. Over nearly four decades serving the supply chain industry, Steve has helped hundreds of clients plan and streamline their warehousing, fulfillment, distribution, and logistics 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).

Steve has advised hundreds of clients ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100 corporations. He has also 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.

Steve earned a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering (BIE) degree from The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and is licensed and registered as a board-certified Professional Engineer (PE). Currently, Steve serves on the Advisory Council for the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) and is a member of the Canvass Committee with the Material Handling Institute (MHI), which establishes industry standards for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Steve has also been interviewed by the media, authored articles for publications, and spoken at industry events.

Services

Stephen (Steve) T. Hopper provides services in the following areas of specialty:

• Strategic planning, design, and optimization of logistics networks
• Strategic planning, estimation, evaluation, selection, and implementation of equipment, automation, and information systems that support safe and effective management and control of materials throughout the supply chain, including handling, packaging, identification, storage, and transportation
• Conception, modeling, analysis, reengineering, design, and activity-based costing (ABC) of warehousing, logistics, manufacturing, and distribution operations and business processes
• Site selection and systematic layout of supply chain facilities
• Economic evaluation and justification of potential solutions and development of business cases
• Improvement of labor productivity, storage and production capacity, and service levels
• Promotion of supply chain industry best practices related to operational safety and material control
• Reduction of operating costs and operational risk
• Evaluation and selection of third-party logistics (3PL) providers

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 software tools

Litigation Support Services

• Served (or is serving) as an expert for litigation support on more than two dozen litigation matters (including current cases) involving warehousing, logistics, and distribution operations in the United States, Canada, and Australia
• Testified as an expert on seven cases: vAdamo Haro and Rochelle Ortega, on Behalf of Themselves and All Others Similarly Situated, v. Walmart Inc. (United States District Court, Eastern District of California, Fresno Division, Case No. 1:21-CV-00147 DAD-SKO)
- Behrendt, et al. v. AutoAlliance International, Inc. (Michigan State Court, County of Wayne, Case No. 13-008093-NO)
- HDI Gerling Industrie Versicherung AG, XL Specialty Insurance Company, et al. v. Continental Terminals, Inc., and RTC Properties, Inc. (United States District Court, District of New Jersey, Case No. 2:14-CV-02571-CCC-MF)
- Karr, et al. v. Amrep Inc. and Zep Inc. (State Court of Georgia, County of Cobb, Case No. 18-A-2713)
- Le Tote, Inc. v. Urban Outfitters, Inc. (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Civil Action No. 2:20-CV-03009)
- Nutranext, LLC v. TAGG Logistics, LLC (American Arbitration Association, Case No. 01-20-0015-9952)
- Tyler Riggle v. Besl Transfer Company, et al. (Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Champaign County, Illinois, Case No. 2019-L-122)

Areas of Expertise

Additional Expertise:

Warehousing, Productivity, Automation, Industrial Engineering, Warehouse Management System, Capacity, WMS, TMS, Layout, Material Flow, Labor, Inventory, Operations, Warehouse Accident, Software Selection, Inventory Control.

Areas Served

United States, Canada, Australia.

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Professional Experience

• Inviscid Consulting - Marietta, Georgia
Founder and Principal, 2004 to present

• Tompkins Ventures - Raleigh, North Carolina
Partner and Consultant, 2020 to present

• Enquire (formerly GlobalWonks) - Washington, District of Columbia
Warehousing, Logistics & Distribution Operations Expert, 2020 to present

• Catalant Technologies (formerly HourlyNerd) - Boston, Massachusetts
Warehousing, Logistics & Distribution Operations Expert, 2016 to present

• Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) - New York, New York
Warehousing, Logistics & Distribution Operations Expert, 2014 to present

• Maven - London, United Kingdom
Warehousing, Logistics & Distribution Operations Expert, 2014 to present

• StoneCross Group - Marietta, Georgia
Co-Founder and Principal, 2012 to 2014

• Accenture (formerly Kurt Salmon Associates) - Atlanta, Georgia
Senior Manager, 2007 to 2009

• Blue Yonder (formerly RedPrairie) - Scottsdale, Arizona
Account Executive, Retail Industry, 2002 to 2004

• Oracle (Oracle Retail division, formerly Retek) - Redwood City, California
Director of Logistics Business Development, North America, 1997 to 2002

• DMW&H (formerly W&H Systems) - Carlstadt, New Jersey
Systems Manager, 1992 to 1997

• Deloitte (logistics consulting division, formerly The Garr Consulting Group) - New York, New York
Senior Consultant, 1991 to 1992
Consultant, 1987 to 1991

• Clark Automated Systems - Battle Creek, Michigan
Sales Engineer, 1986 to 1988

Licenses

• State of Georgia
Board-certified, licensed, registered Professional Engineer (PE)
License number PE019659

• Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM, formerly APICS)
Certified Instructor

Legal Experience & Services

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

Affiliations

• Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)
Member

• Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)
Past President, Atlanta Chapter

• Materials Handling and Management Society (MHMS)
Past President, Atlanta Chapter

• Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC)
Past President, Atlanta Chapter

Seminars & Training

Speaking Engagements and Interviews

• The Association for Supply Chain Management (APICS)
• Auburn University
• The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)
• DC Velocity
• Distribution Center Management
• Dustin Mattison's Supply Chain Podcast
• The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
• The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)
• Material Handling Engineering
• Material Handling Management
• Material Handling & Management Society (MHMS)
• The Material Handling Institute (MHI)
• Modern Materials Handling
• MODEX
• PARCEL Industry
• Parcel Forum
• The Project Management Institute (PMI)
• ProMat
• SelectHub
• Supply Chain Digest
• Supply Chain Now
• SupplyChainBrain
• Unboxing Fulfillment
• The United States Naval Postgraduate School
• The Warehousing Education & Research Council (WERC)

Publications

• “Asking Why and Eight Other Ways to Introduce Lean Thinking into Your DC” – Distribution Center Management (Volume 49 No. 3, March 2014)
• “Avoiding Risky Business in DC Operations” – PARCEL Industry (Volume 25 Issue 6, September-October 2018)
• “Christmas Toy Fulfillment Isn't Kid Stuff” – Material Handling Management (Volume 55 No. 4, April 2000)
• “Controls Are Everybody's Business” – Material Handling Engineering (Volume 54 No. 5, May 1999)
• “Could the Pandemic's Effect on Your Warehouse Have a Silver Lining?” – PARCEL Industry (Volume 27 Issue 6, November-December 2020)
• “Finding Qualified Workers for Supply Chain Operations” – SupplyChainBrain (June 17, 2013)
• “Is It Time to Move to a New Warehouse?” – PARCEL Industry (Volume 28 Issue 4, July-August 2021)
• “Labor Management – A Hard Look at Labor Costs” – Modern Materials Handling (Volume 64 No. 3, March 2009)
• “Labor Pains: The Labor Shortage and How to Survive It” – PARCEL Industry (Volume 29 Issue 1, January-February 2022)
• Material Handling & Logistics US Roadmap 2.0 – Commissioned and published by the Material Handling Institute (MHI) (April 2017)
• “Millennials and Gen Z – The Key to Future-Proofing Your Workforce” – MHI Solutions (Volume 6 No. 2, Q2 2018)
• “Selecting the Right WMS for Today—And Tomorrow” – Logistics, Transportation & Distribution (Winter 1997)
• “Strategies for Improving Labor Productivity in Your Warehouse or Distribution Center” – Logistics Online (November 10, 2008)
• “Streamline Existing Warehousing and Distribution Operations” – WERCSheet, published by the Warehousing Education & Research Council (WERC) (May-June 2017)
• “To 3PL or Not to 3PL” – PARCEL Industry (Volume 27 Issue 1, January-February 2021)
• “What Do You Really Need from a 3PL Partner?” – PARCEL Industry (Volume 27 Issue 2, March-April 2021)
• “What Is WMS? Ultimate Guide and Top Solutions” – SelectHub (November 2022)
• “Where's the Best Location for Your New Warehouse?” – PARCEL Industry (Volume 28 Issue 5, September-October 2021)

Education

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) Atlanta, Georgia
Bachelor of Industrial Engineering (BIE), 1986
• Concentration in warehousing and distribution science