Most Inventory Problems Don’t Start In Inventory
Inventory strategy, decision architecture, and execution for commercial brands
RiverHouse Inventory Architecture
Inventory is not the problem.
Execution breaks down at the decision level.
RiverHouse provides inventory strategy, forecasting, buying, and execution support for consumer brands navigating growth, complexity, and real capital constraints.
We work hands-on and cross-functionally to stabilize execution, improve cash and profitability, and prevent inventory from absorbing risk downstream.
Inventory Architecture is how inventory, forecasting, and buying decisions get made — before they become stock, cash exposure, or constraint.
It defines the structure behind execution,
not just the math behind a plan.
Inventory Architecture
Inventory Architecture is not software and not a planning system.
It’s a leadership and operating model designed to support growth, productivity, and profitability.
It defines which decisions get made (and by whom), what inputs are trusted, which tradeoffs are explicit, and what cadence guides daily execution.
The point isn’t a better forecast or a new tool.
It’s a decision system leadership can actually run — and one RiverHouse helps operate in the real world.
When Inventory Starts Sending
the Wrong Signals
RiverHouse usually steps in when inventory starts behaving in ways leadership never explicitly agreed to accept.
That often looks like growth that appears healthy on the surface but quietly traps cash.
New SKUs that almost work and quietly dilute line productivity.
Forecasts that improve while service levels and margins still degrade.
Promotions that spike revenue, followed by weeks of inventory drag.
Marketplace volatility that turns planning into constant reaction.
These aren’t planning problems.
They’re decision architecture problems.
Why RiverHouse?
RiverHouse exists for moments when inventory, forecasting, and buying start breaking down — not to replace teams or install software, but to help leadership regain clarity and restore control as complexity outpaces structure.
We support companies in different ways depending on what’s needed. That can range from close, hands-on involvement during periods of instability or change to lighter-touch advisory support that provides structured analysis, decision guidance, and clear outputs over time.
The work sits at the intersection of product lines, forecasting, capital behavior, and channel economics, grounded in SKU-level economics and fluency across modern omnichannel operations.
This isn’t generic consulting.
It’s a practical operating model for improving how inventory decisions are made — and how inventory is managed — inside growing businesses.
What It Looks Like to Work
With RiverHouse
RiverHouse doesn’t parachute in with a framework or a fixed methodology.
We show up inside the business to stabilize what’s urgent, redesign what’s broken, and operate the decision layer until inventory reflects leadership intent in practice.
In some moments, that looks like embedded inventory leadership — stepping into planning cycles, running merchandise and inventory decisions, and restoring decision flow.
In others, it looks like targeted intervention — redesigning structure, clarifying ownership, and pressure-testing high-stakes decisions before they harden into inventory.
The shape of that support flexes with the business.
The constant is judgment, execution, and administration at the point where inventory decisions actually get made —
and where the next conversation usually starts.
Most inventory problems don’t start in inventory.
They begin with decisions made earlier.
If you’re ready to examine the decisions behind the outcomes—
and how they’re being executed—we can start there.