Inventory Capital Exposure Review
Inventory due diligence and governance visibility for portfolio companies before or after a capital event.
Most inventory exposure is invisible until the capital event.
The Inventory Capital Exposure Review is a contained diagnostic engagement designed for PE firms, operating partners, and portfolio company leadership who need visibility into inventory position, forward commitment exposure, and governance architecture before or immediately after a capital event.
RiverHouse works from data and reports supplied by the portfolio company. No system access required. No software implementation. No disruption to the deal process.
The output is an executive-ready assessment of what is owned, what is committed, what is at risk, and whether the governance structure exists to manage it going forward.
Who This Serves
PE operating partners and value creation teams evaluating or managing portfolio brands with physical inventory.
Growth equity and VC investors with consumer brand exposure.
Portfolio company CFOs and COOs managing post-acquisition integration.
Founders preparing inventory position for a raise, exit, or recapitalization.
Portfolio Triggers
Pre-acquisition inventory due diligence before close
Post-acquisition 100-day operational integration
Portfolio company expanding into wholesale or national retail
Portfolio company adding Amazon as a channel
Working capital compression at a portfolio brand
Covenant review where inventory exposure creates quiet liability
Founder transition where inventory governance has no clear owner
What Becomes Visible
Inventory Quality &
Capital Position
What is owned, what is sellable, and how productively capital is rotating. Aging, obsolescence, and the gap between book value and monetizable value are surfaced.
Forward Commitment Exposure
What is already committed but not yet received. Open purchase orders, factory obligations, vendor minimums, and production deposits are mapped across two to three quarters.
SKU Productivity &
Capital Concentration
Where capital is generating return and where it is consuming working capital without it. The SKUs that drive revenue versus the SKUs that consume cash are separated and quantified.
Planning & Commitment Infrastructure
Whether a forecast exists, whether it governs the buy, and who can release a purchase order. Commitment thresholds, demand consensus, and OTB discipline are assessed for documentation and enforcement. The gap between what should exist and what does is surfaced.
From Diligence to Discipline
Capital Event Readiness | Scoped per Event
Prepares inventory position, forward commitment exposure, and governance documentation for investor diligence, raises, and exits. Designed for operating partners and portfolio CFOs who need inventory visibility before or immediately after a capital event. Typical timeline: 21 days from data access to executive delivery.g
Infrastructure Build | 60 to 90 Days
Installs the operating architecture the portfolio company runs on: OTB framework, demand forecast, SKU-level buy framework, commitment gate protocol, and decision review cadence.
Embedded Governance | Ongoing
Senior inventory leadership installed in the planning and commitment seat. Governs the buy. Reviews commitments against the installed framework. Develops internal team capability. Steps down as discipline holds.
20+ years leading inventory strategy, merchandise planning, forecasting, and integrated business planning across DTC, omnichannel, wholesale, and Amazon environments.
Experience spans Fortune 500 brands and national retailers.
If a portfolio company's inventory commitments, working capital position, or planning infrastructure need visibility before or after a capital event, let's have a conversation.