The International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA) recently presented its 2012 Distinguished Service Award to Dale S. Rogers, professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management and co-director of the Center for Supply Chain Management at Rutgers University.

"Throughout his career Dale Rogers has contributed enormously to the progress and growth of the warehouse industry," said IWLA Immediate Past Chairman Linda C. Hothem, president of Pacific American Group. Hothem presented Rogers with the award during the IWLA Convention & Expo in San Francisco in March.

One of the factors that influenced IWLA's selection was Rogers' contributions to the association's new sustainability verification and education program. "He gave his time and knowledge, free of charge, to help IWLA establish its Sustainable Logistics Initiative," Hothem said at the award ceremony. "He has dedicated much of his personal and professional life to researching how to environmentally improve logistics processes."

In addition to his role at Rutgers, Rogers is the leader in sustainability and reverse logistics practices for Instituto De Logistica E Supply Chain (ILOS), and its sustainable supply chain research project, in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

Prior to joining the faculty at Rutgers, Rogers was the Foundation Professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management and the director of the Center for Logistics Management at the University of Nevada, Reno. He also held the Paper Foundation Visiting Eminent Scholar Chair of Logistics at the University of North Florida.

Rogers has consulted with many companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Coca-Cola, IBM, UPS, Menlo Logistics, and Genco Logistics, among others. Widely published in logistics journals, he is also the co-author of the recent book Supply Chain Management: Processes, Partnerships, Performance and the first book about reverse logistics, Going Backwards: Reverse Logistics Trends and Practices. Rogers was also named a DC Velocity Rainmaker in 2010.

(For a video interview with Rogers, click here.)