Michelle Comerford
Industrial and Supply Chain Practice Lead
Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Company
As Project Director and Industrial & Supply Chain Practice Leader, Michelle develops and implements corporate location strategies for BLS & Co’s manufacturing and distribution clients. With nearly 15 years site selection experience and a background in logistics and transportation, Michelle has advised numerous manufacturing and distribution clients on site selection decisions with an emphasis on supply chain network optimization, inbound and outbound transportation costs, and customer service requirements.
In her tenure, and in addition to her supply chain expertise, Michelle has directed clients in evaluating location strategy, and community/site selection alternatives, as well as due diligence, property acquisition, and other aspects of project implementation.
Geographic Areas Served:
- North America
- United States
- Canada
- Mexico
Industries or Specialties:
- Manufacturing
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Food & Beverage
- Consumer Products
- Metals
- Plastics
- Aerospace
- Aviation
- Automotive
- Electronics and Appliances
- Distribution
- General Manufacturing
Areas of Expertise: Michelle’s primary areas of focus are for manufacturing and distribution operations, across most industry sectors. With a background in logistics and transportation, Michelle is expert at incorporating supply chain network optimization, inbound and outbound transportation costs, and customer service requirements into the site selection decision-making process through modeling. She also is an expert at labor market analysis for manufacturing, a key driver for many operations today, as well as utility services cost and service analysis. With a background in working within an engineering firm, Michelle is also expert at guiding site due diligence analysis for industrial operations.
Past Employment: Previously, Michelle was with Austin Consulting, the site selection consulting group within The Austin Company, for 10 years, including three years as Managing Director. During her tenure, she developed a supply chain and logistics service for clients, as part of site selection services for manufacturers. Prior to that, Michelle held positions in commercial real estate (The Staubach Company), transportation (Manfredi Motor Transit), and supply chain management (M.A. Hanna/PolyOne).
Notable Past Clients:
- Avon Products
- Bimbo Bakeries
- Colgate Palmolive
- Celebration Foods
- Fanatics
- Merfish Pipe & Supply
- PGP International
- Raybern’s
- Rich Products
- Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Education: Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a double major in Marketing and Logistics from John Carroll University in Cleveland, OH.
Personal: In 2012, Michelle was named one of Cleveland Crain’s Business Magazine Top Forty Under 40.
Contact Info:
Phone: 216-973-8872
Email: mcomerford@blsstrategies.com
Website: http://www.BLSstrategies.com
Twitter: @mmcomerford
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/michellecomerford/