Dr. James A. Tompkins is an international authority on designing and implementing end-to-end supply chains. As the founder and Chairman of Tompkins International, his focus over the last several years has been in the areas of digital commerce, unichannel and supply chain reinvention. Over the last 40 years, Tompkins International has evolved from a supply chain consulting firm into an end-to-end supply chain consulting and solutions company, with business units focusing on supply chain consulting, material handling integration, and robotics. His 40-plus years as CEO of Tompkins International and his focus on helping companies achieve profitable growth give him an insider’s view into what makes great companies even better.

An expert in global distribution strategy, Denny McKnight has spent his 25+ year career focusing on warehouse logistics, equipment, and technology, as well as overseeing the development of Tompkins’ proprietary robotic sortation systems and strategic partnerships.  Denny’s extensive experience leading large-scale initiatives in facility re-engineering and new greenfield DC/FC design has given him unrivaled levels of insight into the best approaches and technologies for the modern distribution and fulfillment environment.

Denny is a frequent speaker on various warehousing and logistics subjects, is quoted in top industry publications, and has contributed to several industry related books.  In 2018, he was recognized by Supply & Demand Chain Executive as an industry “Pro-to-Know”.  

Kaplan has 30 years experience as a CFO with 23 of those years working with public companies. During his career, Kaplan has been directly responsible for closing over $1.4 billion in transactions, including underwritten public offerings (four IPOs), PIPEs, acquisitions and bank financings. As EVP and CFO at Rare Medium Group, Kaplan completed a $186 million underwritten public offering and more than $70 million in private placement funding. Throughout his career as a CFO, Kaplan has been responsible for building and developing corporate finance and administrative staff to handle growth, and he has implemented budgeting and forecasting disciplines to manage growth. During Kaplan's tenure at Clabir Corporation, a conglomerate that owned 37 restaurants and 100 convenience stores, the company brought the popular KlondikeÔ ice cream bar to the national market and subsequently spun-off Klondike as a separate public company.

Kaplan also has substantial experience implementing and managing successful investor relations campaigns and coordinated securities analyst coverage for a number of public companies. Kaplan has experience in financial leadership, capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, and investor relations for public and emerging-growth companies. 

Kaplan holds a Master’s of Business Administration with distinction from the New York University Stern School of Business, where he was elected a charter member of Beta Gamma Sigma (National Business Honor Society), and a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University.

David Latona has more than 30 years experience in the supply chain industry. He is an apparel and footwear material handling integration specialist, skilled in the complete merchandise and mechanical flow of operations with a particular emphasis systems development in view of the overall supply chain.

Before joining Tompkins, David was a Partner and Senior Vice President of Vector Design, Inc. a nationwide material handling integrator and Co-founder and Managing Director of a third party logistics operator in the Port of Los Angeles.  He also co-founded Polygon Solutions, a B2B model offering services to emerging apparel and footwear brands providing a hosted ERP system, data entry, auditing and customer services. His expertise has helped companies such as The Wet Seal, Kenneth Cole Productions, The May Dept Stores, Carole Little, Perry Ellis, Warnaco, BCBG, bebe, Macy’s, Frederick’s of Hollywood, Kellwood, Authentic Fitness, Rock and Republic, Earth footwear, Tyr Sports, Kids R Us, JC Penney’s and The Gap.

Dale Pickett is vice president for Tompkins Material Handling Integration. Dale has spent much of his career in distribution network design, warehousing design and operations, warehouse management systems and manufacturing. His practical engineering expertise has helped many companies determine the lowest cost solution, yielding the best return on investment, that meets the business and service requirements for long-term success. Dale has modeled networks using multiple tools and designed the resulting warehouse changes and new facilities. He has led many DC implementations for a variety of clients and helped them to achieve significant improvements in cost, performance and service.  He has performed due diligence effort evaluating supply chains for acquisition with directional improvement targets incorporating capital investment requirements. ​

Utilizing 25+ years of consulting experience he applies engineering and business case analysis techniques to develop the offering into a robust solution that seeks to evolve by continuously improving cost and service. ​

Dale Harmelink oversees supply chain consulting services at Tompkins International. Dale is an expert in logistics systems planning, order-picking, and warehouse operations. He is skilled in computer modeling and evaluation of distribution system alternatives, as well as developing and evaluating warehouse equipment and systems. Dale has taught numerous seminars on logistics, and has co-edited and co-authored several books. He received his B.S. in Manufacturing Administration from Western Michigan University.

Mike Halsey received his B.S. in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University, and is a 24 year veteran of Tompkins’ Supply Chain Consulting Services team. He has extensive experience in the design and implementation of Manufacturing and Distribution Facilities and Operations, Material Handling Equipment selection and specifications, Warehouse Management Systems, Distribution Networks, and Production Planning systems. Mike’s successes include the design of more than 50 distribution centers, 18 distribution networks, and ten manufacturing facilities. Mike approaches every project with a focus on achieving customer service goals, and employs innovative engineering concepts to ensure peak operational and economic performance of his facilities. Among his clients are Ingram Books, STIHL, Performance, Inc., Cooper Tools, Virginia ABC, Indigo Book & Music, Advance Auto, Hanesbrands, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, and MTD Products.

Karl has an extensive background in supply chain strategies, software, solutions, and project management, as well as transportation and routing work for perishable goods and food service, where he has helped numerous organizations eliminate waste in their supply chains and develop better customer service.  Prior to re-joining Tompkins, Karl was VP of Logistics Systems for Supply Chain Intelligence where he was responsible for the design and implementation of transportation software.  Karl also served as a Senior Director of Consulting Services at Manhattan Associates, responsible for the implementation of optimization products, such as PTRS (routing & scheduling), SmartSite (network planning), Slot-Info (slotting), and Productivity Manager (labor management).

Cal Petty has 27 years of experience helping companies improve their supply chain by leveraging proven software, technology and engineering solutions.
Cal has a strong track record of building a trusted advisor relationship with companies across major verticals including retail, consumer products, industrial and electrical supply, high tech, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage and third party logistics.  Cal has successfully delivered projects crossing a wide range of specialties including Network Optimization, DC Design and ERP Integration.  Prior to joining Tompkins, Cal held senior management positions at several supply chain consulting firms with a focus on technology assessment, selection and implementation.  Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)  have been a particular area of focus for Cal including over 25 implementation projects.  Cal is a frequent speaker, presenter, panelist on supply chain execution systems which include WMS, TMS, DOM, LMS, YMS and Slotting. Cal received his B.S. in Information and Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Steve has three decades of supply chain engineering and management experience. He is an expert in the design, strategy and implementation of warehouse management systems, warehousing, manufacturing, 3PL vendor selection, logistics and organizational excellence and best practices initiatives. 

At Tompkins, Steve has played an integral role in developing and executing our consulting offerings from strategy through facility design and implementation. He has reliably guided our clients and led project teams on multiple network designs, outsourcing strategies, change management and software implementations. His experience is across multiple verticals including industrial, pharmaceutical, consumer packaged goods, food and beverage, c-store, grocery and retail.