IWLA, the resource for warehouse logistics, recently awarded the Executive Warehouse Logistics Professional (EWLP) designation to Jere Van Puffelen, president of Danville-Calif.-based PRISM Team Services, Inc. Van Puffelen is the first person ever to achieve this status, the highest level in IWLA’s three-tier certification program for logistics leaders. He received formal recognition March 10 during the IWLA Convention & Expo in Savannah, Ga.
“It is difficult to put words to the dedication Jere has for the warehouse logistics industry and IWLA,” says IWLA President & CEO Steve DeHaan, CAE. “Time and again, he goes above and beyond to volunteer his time and knowledge to make our association and the industry stronger. He is a leader. He is a mentor. And he is an innovator.” Van Puffelen started in the warehouse business as a lumper at Acme Delivery in Denver, Colo. He progressed to vice president of sales and marketing. He spent 15 months in Columbus, Ohio, with Retail Merchants Industries as the vice president of sales and marketing and then moved to Danville, Calif., in 1981. He served as the president of Transbay Distribution Centers from 1981 to 1983, and as the president of National Distribution Agency from 1983 to 1993. In 1993, Van Puffelen started PRISM Team Services with partner Paul Van de Roovaart.
His IWLA involvement began in the ’70s when the organization was still the American Warehouse Association. His IWLA leadership credentials include founding and chairing the California Chapter; serving on multiple convention planning committees; work on the IWLA-Political Action Committee; active participation on the marketing committee; and leading the government affairs committee, the education committee, the council of chairs, and the IWLA Ambassadors’ Council. He served on the IWLA Board of Directors for four years, the executive committee for four years, and was the 2009-2010 IWLA Chairman. In 2013, Van Puffelen received the industry’s highest honor: the IWLA Distinguished Service and Leadership Award. To earn the EWLP individuals must hold a job title at the officer level or equivalent in their companies. They must qualified for the two lower levels of certification (“Qualified” and “Certified”) and meet these criteria:
- Serve as chairman/co-chairman of an IWLA committee or council.
- Serve as mentor (provide letter of recommendation from the mentee).
- Present at an IWLA-sponsored conference or webinar.
- Participate in a leadership capacity outside of IWLA (this can be outside of warehousing industry).
- Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the warehousing industry by speaking at non-IWLA warehousing-industry event (i.e., CSCMP, WERC) or author an industry book/article/white paper.
- Demonstrate professional development commitment by participating in a Mastermind group or other continuing education and professional-development group approved by the IWLA Executive Committee.
The International Warehouse Logistics Association’s Executive Warehouse Logistics Professional program is designed specifically for the warehouse logistics professional and is recognized by hundreds of companies. For more information on the IWLA Warehouse Logistics Professional program, contact the IWLA Education Department at 847.813.4699 or via email at education@IWLA.com.
