AUDIT
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Application · Infrastructure & Supply Chain Audit

From the methodology — to a specific station, a specific track, a specific program.

An applied audit that converts the general concept into a quantitative assessment of specific infrastructure or a specific supply chain. Two contexts: verification of logistics-cost transparency for donor-financed programs in Ukraine, and assessment of methodology applicability on short-line infrastructure in the United States.

Who performs the audit

Audits are conducted personally by the author of the methodology — a practitioner with over 11 years of operational experience in rail logistics for bulk commodities (2013–2024). Background includes work with the Ukrainian railway system (Ukrzaliznytsia), commercial operations 2018–2022 (7,000+ railcars, ~500,000 tons), and the academic foundation behind the methodology (DOI 10.18664/1994-7852.215.2026.358843, ISBN 979-8-90243-723-9).

Full background →
01
Two audit contexts

The audit addresses two different questions on two different markets.

In Ukraine, the task is to verify that donor-financed programs are actually paying a fair price for construction-material logistics, and to identify how much of the cost is connected to real operational work versus how much is captured by intermediary margins and inefficient routing.

In the United States, the task is the inverse — to assess what can be done with existing infrastructure: short-line track, idle industrial spurs, sidings. What freight volume an asset can hold, what revenue that yields, how the methodology maps onto a specific network segment.

Both contexts draw on the same base — operational experience in rail logistics for bulk commodities, tools for full logistics cost computation, and the Anywhere Logistics conceptual model. Only the framing of the question changes.

02
Supply chain audit · Ukraine

For donor-financed reconstruction programs.

For the World Bank, USAID, KfW, EU, and national reconstruction offices operating under their financing. The audit provides a quantitative answer to the question donor procurement teams are facing: what share of allocated capital actually pays for logistics, and what share is being absorbed by chains of intermediaries.

Track 1
Audit of a donor program's logistics chain

What the audit covers

  • Analysis of the existing supply chain: the material's route from quarry or production facility to the end construction object, with all transload points and contractual links
  • Computation of the fair full logistics cost built from actual operational work: station charges, switching, locomotive work, rolling stock lease, dwell, unloading equipment, and the trucking leg
  • Comparison with the actual cost the program is paying through its current chain — surfacing the delta attributable to intermediary margins and routing inefficiency
  • Selection of optimal infrastructure: a specific station, a specific track, a specific switching pattern for the given freight flow
  • Assessment of Anywhere Logistics applicability to the freight flow in question: where a mobile hub makes sense, where an existing terminal is the right answer

What the donor receives

  • A report with concrete figures for each logistics-cost line item, defendable in front of procurement audit
  • A comparison of current and optimized schemes, with the delta decomposed by source of savings
  • Recommendations on specific infrastructure points and operational schemes
  • Documentation of the calculation methodology — the model stays with the client and can be reused

A parallel effect — minimization of corruption exposure. When a donor program has an independently computed fair full cost, the gap between that figure and the invoices on the desk becomes visible and substantiable. This shifts the program office's position in negotiations with contractors and operators.

Who this is for Donor procurement teams, national reconstruction offices, internal audit units, compliance teams. The audit is conducted on a specific program or on a specific regional freight flow.
03
Infrastructure audit · U.S.

For short-line operators and owners of industrial rail infrastructure.

For Class III short-line operators, owners of industrial spurs and sidings, regional DOTs, and industrial-park operators with their own rail access. The audit answers the question: what can be done with the existing asset — track, spur, siding, unloading face — within the Anywhere Logistics methodology.

Track 2
Audit of methodology applicability to specific infrastructure

What the audit covers

  • Analysis of the existing rail asset: track, spur, siding, unloading face, access points, weight and clearance constraints, regulatory status
  • Assessment of the freight volume the asset can physically hold — accounting for rolling-stock characteristics, switching schedules, technical limitations
  • Selection of commodity types for which Anywhere Logistics is applicable on this asset (focus: bulk and inert materials)
  • Operational model assessment: what it takes to start, what operating roles are needed, how the methodology maps onto Class III regulatory environment
  • Computation of the revenue potential from applying the methodology — what the asset yields the owner once included in an Anywhere Logistics flow

What the infrastructure owner receives

  • A report with a quantitative assessment of the asset's potential — defendable in front of the board or an investor
  • A list of scenarios for methodology application across different freight types and different operational intensities
  • Recommendations on prioritization — where to start, what to defer
  • A basis for further partnership discussion on the specific asset, if the owner wants to move forward

This track is particularly relevant for assets that are currently idle or underutilized: abandoned industrial spurs, satellite branches of Class I networks, unloading faces of former production sites, industrial spurs in redevelopment districts. The Anywhere Logistics methodology can reactivate such assets without capital investment in stationary infrastructure.

Who this is for Class III short-line operators, owners of industrial spurs and sidings, regional DOTs, real estate developers with rail access, industrial-park operators. The audit is conducted on a single asset or on a network of assets under one ownership.
Audit inquiry

The first conversation carries no commitment. It is a discussion of applicability.

An audit request begins with a short description of your context: what exactly needs to be assessed, in what geography, and at what scale of freight flow or infrastructure. From that, the relevance of the audit and the scope of work can be determined.

Inquiry

Two inquiry paths — choose the one that fits your context.

Donor-financed program

World Bank, USAID, KfW, EU, national reconstruction office, program implementation unit. Describe the program type, geography, freight volume.

Donor audit — email

Infrastructure operator (U.S.)

Class III short-line, industrial spur owner, regional DOT, real estate developer with rail access. Describe the asset: location, type of track, current use.

Infrastructure audit — email