Joseph Niehaus
Director, Supply Chain Management, LMI
Prior to the last two years, supply chain resiliency was not widely understood or talked about, said Joseph Niehaus, director of supply chain management for LMI. Delays in offloading cargo in major ports, disruption of distribution channels by severe weather, and the national shortage of truck drivers have changed that.
“Now it is extensively discussed as we see the impact of weakened supply chains on our daily lives,” Niehaus said. “It is an issue that is commanding our collective attention. It impacts our national security and economic prosperity.
In recent years, LMI has significantly matured its supply chain practice and advanced its presence across the federal space. Now is an exciting time to apply rapidly evolving and diverse technology, data and methodologies to meet these challenges — including LMI’s Dynamic Resilience Assessment model which leverages advanced analytics and modeling techniques, Niehaus said.
LMI advises multiple entities within the Defense Department, including the COVID-19 Task Force and the Defense Logistics Agency, and has recently begun helping NASA, the departments of State and Health and Human Services develop comprehensive supply chain solutions.
Why Watch
In 2022, Niehaus’ team will support multiple federal agencies in responding to recent executive orders addressing the needs for resilient and secure supply chains.
“We are truly experiencing unprecedented times,” said LMI President and CEO Doug Wagoner. “With the ever evolving and unpredictable changes to global supply chains, LMI is dedicated to providing our clients with proactive and innovative solutions to combat unexpected challenges that may further impact our nation’s mission operations and security. We believe that supply chain security is national security.”
LMI recognizes supply chain resiliency affects agency strategies broader, but also has specific impacts on agency decisions on manufacturing sources, stockpile management and the security of distribution networks.
“Our focus is on effectively supporting agencies’ responses to the executive orders in a manner that measures risk and uses quantitative models to guide agency decision-making,” Niehaus said.