How We Work
Every engagement begins with a conversation.
Work is prescribed at the depth your business requires.
The Approach
RiverHouse is not a consulting firm that hands you a report and walks away. Not a software platform that calculates demand without governing decisions. And not a staffing solution that fills a seat without structural intent.
Every engagement is personal. Ray Hurt works directly with your leadership team inside your existing systems, operating cadence, and data environment. No junior associates. No handoffs. No decks that sit on a shelf.
We advise with precision. We install with authority. We govern with discipline.
How Engagements Are Scoped
RiverHouse prescribes engagement depth based on three factors: the severity of capital exposure, the urgency of the structural gap, and the bandwidth of your leadership team.
Every engagement begins the same way: a diagnostic conversation. The structural condition of the business is assessed and the right entry point is identified. No engagement is sold before that conversation occurs.
From there, work proceeds at one of three levels.
LEVEL 1
Structural Performance Audit
The diagnostic entry point.
A 21-day consulting engagement that defines enforceable capital boundaries before additional exposure compounds.
RiverHouse works inside your data and planning environment to separate committed from flexible exposure, define buy-limit thresholds tied to liquidity tolerance, and deliver a stabilization blueprint your team can use immediately.
If capital behavior corrects once thresholds are defined, no further engagement is required.
Best for: Brands where inventory exposure is present and uncontrolled capital deployment must stop before it compounds further.
Fixed-scope, fixed-fee engagement.
LEVEL 2
Commitment Gate Installation
The structural fix.
An 8 to 12 week engagement that builds the commitment cadence, trains internal leadership on how to operate it, and governs it actively while discipline takes shape.
RiverHouse works inside the operating rhythm as it is being established, enforcing approval boundaries before purchase orders release and governing Open-to-Buy against defined liquidity tolerance.
Companies with existing planning infrastructure adopt into the process. Where infrastructure does not exist, build work is scoped as a discrete project alongside the engagement.
Best for: Brands where capital drift is visible and thresholds alone are insufficient to hold commitment discipline.
Monthly retainer. Hours and scope defined in a statement of work.
LEVEL 3
Embedded Governance
The ongoing seat.
Ongoing fractional inventory authority inside the planning and commitment seat. Hours are scoped to client complexity with no fixed weekly commitment.
RiverHouse leads cadence, enforces thresholds, documents overrides, and maintains decision discipline. Engagement intensity steps down as discipline holds.
Best for: Brands where inventory decisions materially influence liquidity, executive attention, and board visibility.
Monthly retainer. Engagement intensity and hours scoped to client complexity in a statement of work.
Some brands require discrete strategic project work alongside or independent of the governance continuum, including channel assortment strategy, marketplace build-out and margin architecture, capital event readiness, or planning infrastructure design. For brands entering L2 without an existing planning infrastructure, the build is scoped and priced as a standalone project running alongside the engagement. All discrete project work carries defined deliverables and separate pricing. If the work your business requires does not fit neatly into a diagnostic, an installation, or an ongoing seat, that is where this conversation starts.
Each project is scoped and priced independently with defined deliverables
What Does Not Change
You retain final capital authorization at all times. Work happens inside your existing environment. No software is sold. No implementation project is required. RiverHouse works inside your ERP, planning tools, and marketplace systems.
Senior authority is present in every session. Capacity is intentionally limited so the same operator is present in every engagement. No junior associates. No handoffs. If capital behavior corrects at a lower level of engagement, no further work is required.
How to Start
The first step is a diagnostic conversation. Not a sales call.
The structural condition of your inventory and capital commitment architecture is assessed.
If RiverHouse is the right fit, the appropriate engagement level is recommended and scoped.
If it is not, that will be said directly.
No obligation. No pitch before that conversation happens.