SOLE – The International Society of Logistics was founded in 1966 originally as the Society of Logistics Engineers) as an international nonprofit professional association. Since then, SOLE has served academia, business and industry, and logistics professionals around the world through its certification and designation programs, training, forums, publications, and thought leadership.
Since its inception, SOLE has been regarded as a highly valued organization that serves the entire spectrum of logistics, focusing on the entire logistics enterprise. The association is perhaps best known for its certification and credentialing programs that recognize the professional expertise and accomplishments of logisticians within commerce, industry, defense, government agencies, academia, and private institutions. In addition to its certification and designation programs, SOLE has long provided other critical avenues for professional support, education, and advancement for logistics practitioners.
SOLE’s many accomplishments include the following:
- Recognition as ethical, objective, and expert consultants to the highest levels of government and industry. As such, SOLE has helped US federal agencies like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to plan, host, manage, and facilitate forums on topics ranging from human capital development, to emerging logistics technologies, to the
impact of extreme space weather. - Selection by the US Department of Labor (DOL) as the default commentator as regards expert assessments of the logistics services industry as a whole.
- The conferral of over 2,500 Certified Professional Logistician (CPL) and Certified Master Logistician (CML) credentials.
- The conferral of over 25,000 Designated Logistician program credentials since 2005.
- Development and delivery of unique educational programs in the United States and abroad, including logistics body-of-knowledge overview classes, local and regional professional development forums on an array of technical topics, and customized training programs and academic curricula for industry and higher education.
- Establishment of the SOLE Press, which has published four volumes on logistics principles, integrated logistics support, and quantitative measurements of logistics.
- Since its inception over 50 years ago, support of logisticians in over 50 countries around the world.