A specialty chemical producer in Houston relied on a mix of unit trains and single-car shipments to reach key customers, yet railcar availability was erratic and yard congestion was a recurring problem. Production planners and logistics teams operated on different assumptions about capacity, which led to mismatched schedules, extended dwell and escalating accessorial costs.

Tellen Advisors conducted a detailed review of production patterns, rail contracts, yard operations and carrier performance to understand where the system was breaking down. The team worked with manufacturing, planning and logistics leaders to redesign the cadence of production campaigns, aligning them with realistic rail capacity and the physical limits of on-site loading infrastructure.

New playbooks were created for how and when to stage outbound volumes, how to prioritize customers under constraint and how to communicate with carriers using precise, data-backed forecasts. By integrating these disciplines into the daily and weekly operating rhythm, Tellen Advisors helped the plant shift from reactive scrambling to a stable, predictable flow of product that matched both market demand and transportation reality.

The result was a logistics operation that supported, rather than disrupted, the manufacturing mission. Inventory swings narrowed, rail yards operated with greater clarity and the commercial team gained confidence that commitments to customers could be met without last-minute heroics.