Sedlak celebrates 60 years

Sedlak Supply Chain Consultants, an independent distribution and logistics consulting firm, is celebrating its 60th anniversary this month. Sedlak has helped more than 1,200 clients worldwide with more than 2,500 projects since it was founded, providing services including network strategy, facility planning and design, operations improvement, transportation planning, inventory optimization, change management and IT systems solutions. Today, Sedlak is one of the oldest consulting firms in North America.

Sedlak was founded in 1958 by Joseph A. Sedlak, an expert in material handling equipment and operations. At the time, Sedlak was working as many as five jobs during the week to support his wife and family of seven (ultimately 10) children. He had a full-time position in apparel manufacturer Bobbie Brooks’ distribution operation, and in the evenings he taught industrial engineering courses at Fenn Engineering College, now part of Cleveland State University. His expertise was in high demand among companies with distribution operations, so once he secured enough consulting and design work he founded Joseph A. Sedlak Management Consultants, Inc.

“My father founded this company on three principles: family, faith and profession. Our continued commitment to these principles is what separates us and drives our success,” says Patrick Sedlak, Principal and son of Joseph Sedlak. “As a result, some of the most iconic brands have depended on this small family-run business to optimize their logistics and supply chain operations.” These brands include JCPenney, adidas Group, Kellogg’s, Nordstrom, Northern Tool and Equipment, Gap Inc., American Girl, Lands’ End and The Limited. In recent years, healthcare organizations such as MetroHealth, Blood Systems, the University of Santa Barbara and AmerisourceBergen have also been in need of Sedlak’s supply chain services.

Sedlak is currently owned by Joseph’s sons Patrick and Ned and his son-in-law Jeff Graves.

Graves’ daughter Kara Ashby is a 22-year veteran of the Sedlak team and the newly appointed President of Sedlak. “In the 60 years we’ve been in business, the role of consultant has changed very little,” says Ashby. “But the technology we use and recommend to our customers has changed dramatically. As we look to expand our footprint in the future, keeping up with emerging technology will be critical to our success.”