About Us

NorthEast Logistics Systems, LLC is an independent transportation management consulting group providing end-to-end integrated logistics solutions. Our expertise is in decision support systems and implementation of management processes aimed at attracting new business and increasing operational efficiency.

 

We work with organizations to optimize freight logistics expenditures – particularly for rail transportation.  We do this through supply chain management, modal evaluation, asset management, service planning and operations execution.  Our customized solutions and philosophy are tempered by decades of experience in all aspects of rail operations, logistics, marketing and business development.
 
How We Work

Since 1999, we have brought hands-on experience, skills and know-how to solve tough transportation problems and manage complex projects, working effectively under tight time constraints where timely execution is paramount to achieving desired results.

 

We recognize that in order to be effective, we need to thoroughly understand our clients business, strengths, challenges, people, customers, differentiators and areas of risk.  Accordingly, we focus our practice on long term partnerships with select clients. We look to partner with forward-looking companies to help them achieve their business objectives through long term relationships.  In this way, we can better assist clients with tactical business issues, new strategic initiatives and provide guidance as the industry adapts to new economic and regulatory realties.
 
Founder

Richard E. Flynn has over 39 years of continuous experience in the railroad industry and is a subject-matter expert in rail transportation information systems, blending deep technical knowledge with significant managerial experience in marketing and sales, operations management, industrial development, government relations and labor relations.

 

Flynn has been a key contributor to initiatives that have led to nationwide innovations in rail car tracking capabilities.  He has developed a number of proprietary interline systems that track, trace, analyze, manage and forecast the movement of rail cars in North America. Flynn has led significant system integration initiatives and “clean sheet” system designs. He serves as the chief architect of U.S. Federal Government systems to monitor and mitigate the risks associated with the North American transport of hazardous materials.

 

He was the architect of the enabling systems for “LAM” -- an acronym for Local Area Management, an empowerment process wherein local rail service decisions and impacts could be assessed in real-time relative to their impact on the broader national network. The program received considerable industry acclaim, including feature articles in Traffic World and Railway Age. LAM was the subject of a favorable “best practices” opinion paper authored by two professors at Penn State University, School of Logistics Management and by Dutch Holland, Ph.D., the author of Red Zone Management. 

 

Mr. Flynn holds a B.B.A. (Business and Finance), cum laude from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and has attended a variety of university-based management development programs and professional certification programs.

 

He is a member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), Served as Vice Chairman, Technology Committee, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association - Washington, DC and is an active member of the New England Railroad Club - Boston, MA.

 

Flynn currently serves as Executive Director of the Eastern Massachusetts Freight Rail Coalition. EMFRC represents the interests of freight rail transportation constituents. Flynn also serves as a voting member of the Massachusetts Planning Organization’s (MPO) Regional Transportation Advisory Committee (RTAC).
 
Previous Projects
  • Risk evaluation model for assessing impacts of changes in the rail network flows of hazardous materials.
  • Integration of commercial organizational units for a Class I rail carrier.
  • Implementation of a customer service escalation process for a Class I rail carrier.
  • Deployment of service diagnostics tools for a major Class I rail carrier marketing and sales organization.
  • Nationwide study to evaluate the effect of rail mergers on the national rail freight network.
  • Development of TMS system for regional and short line railroads.
  • Development of revenue settlement system for regional and short line railroads.
  • Development of Oracle-based risk management system with major systems integrator for a federal agency.
  • Charter of a regional rail advocacy organization to further opportunities for rail freight growth.
  • Development of proprietary geo-reference databases to relate conventional rail asset management systems with Geographic and Sat-Com technologies.