People, facilities, supplies. Those are some of the words used in the dictionary to define “logistics,” and no one probably knows this better than Steve Michaels ’76. His nearly 30-year career involved the logistics of transportation, warehousing and distribution, and he currently serves as president of BMS Logistics, Inc., in St. Joseph, Mo., which is all about, people, facilities and supplies.
Steve had been attending college for two years in his home state of Pennsylvania while working for Carnation when a promotion to a supervisor position brought him and his family to Carnation’s plant in Elwood, Kan., in 1973. He continued his education at Missouri Western while working full time and graduated with a bachelor of science in business administration with an emphasis in management in 1976.
Class, homework, work, sleep. Those four words describe Steve’s school experience at Missouri Western. “I was one of those guys that you would find sleeping on the bench in the hallway between classes,” he says with a laugh.
In 1982, Carnation was purchased by Nestlé, and the Elwood plant closed in 1987. Steve moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., and spent five years consolidating company operations for Nestlé in the southern United States. He also coordinated the construction of a large distribution center in Atlanta.
Hotels, airplanes and rental cars. Steve then spent five years consolidating all of Nestlé’s trucking operations in the United States into one company, which involved the standardization of approximately 1,500 trucks and 19 terminals.
“I enjoyed the challenge, but it was very stressful,” he says. Unfortunately, his body agreed, and after two heart attacks during that time, he retired from Nestlé.
Warehousing, contract packaging, fulfillment and distribution. When he retired from Nestlé in 1997, he had the opportunity to run BMS Logistics. He had started up his own transportation company a few years earlier, which he sold to BMS. Today he serves as president of the company.
When BMS opened its doors, its focus was warehousing, and it had one facility and a handful of employees.
Today, the company has expanded into contract packaging, light assembly, and internet fulfillment, which means BMS will completely manage a customer’s online store or any part of the process. BMS has several locations and about 350 employees: five locations in St. Joseph in addition to facilities in Wathena, Kan.; Lincoln, Neb.; and Allentown, Pa. Steve said the company’s focus is gradually moving toward more assembly and more light manufacturing.
He attributes the company’s success to credibility with their customers. “We tell customers what we can do, the time frame and the price, and we usually exceed the targets,” Steve said. “We don’t often lose customers.”
Consult, market, advise. Steve’s recent experience with Missouri Western started when he contacted the Craig School of Business to see if students could develop a marketing strategy to attract clients to BMS’ internet fulfillment services. He also asked the school of business to help revamp the company’s website.
The school of business is tapping into Steve’s expertise, as he now serves on its advisory council. Last fall, he helped judge the Entrepreneurship Challenge for high school students.
Dream, love, learn. That is his advice for new graduates. “Don’t stop dreaming. The most satisfaction you can have is to have your own company and succeed.” He tells college students to decide what they love to do and then go work for a company that does that. “This was my dream for many years.”
-end-