Fixed-Fee Inventory Diagnostics

Find the cash and margin trapped in your inventory.

Arcos Group helps manufacturers and distributors release working capital and improve service levels through fixed-fee inventory diagnostics and targeted implementation support — using SKU-level demand and inventory data, not guesswork.

Book a 30-minute fit call Estimate your engagement ↓

Complimentary 30-minute Inventory Management Maturity Assessment before any commitment.

The Problem

Cash is sitting on your shelves — and most teams can't see where.

Inventory is usually the largest working-capital line on the balance sheet, and the one with the least visibility. Excess stock ties up cash. Understock risk quietly erodes service levels and customer trust. Stocking policies are set by habit, not by data. And by the time it shows up in the numbers, the quarter is already over.

Most operations teams know something is wrong. Almost none can say exactly which SKUs, which locations, or how much cash is on the table — because the analysis requires SKU-level demand history and inventory data most ERPs weren't built to surface cleanly.

  • 3 Common failure modes: excess stock, understock risk, and misaligned stocking policy — usually all three at once
  • 1 Balance sheet line item — inventory — that ties up more cash than almost any other, with the least amount of scrutiny
  • 0 Guesswork. Findings are built from your own SKU-level demand and inventory data, not industry rules of thumb

Quick Calculator

Quickly calculate the impact of excess inventory in your situation.

Enter a few numbers and see what excess inventory could be costing you right now — then get a real, diagnosed number from the estimator below.

See your own number 60 seconds
Stock position vs. target +10%
On target+50%
Cost of capital 15%
0%30%
Cash trapped in excess inventory $0
Annual cost of capital on that cash $0
Inventory turns, current → target 0.0x → 0.0x

Illustrative, based on the figures you enter. Your real number is diagnosed, not guessed — see the estimator below.

Scope Estimator

Get a ballpark engagement scope in real time.

Select what you need and move the sliders to match your business. This maps to the same tiers described below — the exact scope is always confirmed on a fit call.

10,000
500150,000+
3
125+
Recommended tier

2D Cash Scan

Compare inventory levels to ideal levels and identify a cash unlock opportunity for every SKU.

Indicative fee $15,000
Timeline 2–3 weeks from receipt of data

Fixed fee, based on typical scope for this SKU range.

Start the conversation

Worked Example

What a 2D Cash Scan actually finds.

A simplified, illustrative walkthrough of how a diagnostic breaks down inventory value across a client's SKU base.

Total inventory value analyzed $42.6M 18,400 active SKUs · 4 distribution locations
Healthy stock — 71% Excess / slow-moving — 19% Understock risk — 10%
  • Discontinued / superseded SKUs$2.4M
  • Overstocked vs. 90-day demand signal$3.9M
  • Duplicate stock across locations$1.8M
  • SKUs below reorder point, high demand variability210 SKUs
  • Single-source SKUs with lead-time exposure84 SKUs
  • Locations with recurring stockouts (last 90 days)46 SKUs
  • Immediate release: obsolete / superseded SKUs$2.4M
  • Phased release: overstock drawdown, 2–3 quarters$3.2M–$4.8M

Illustrative example based on a representative client engagement. Figures are directional, not a guarantee of results.

How It Works

From first call to savings realized.

Engagements range from a focused 2D Cash Scan to time-phased 3D modeling and full implementation management that turns inventory opportunities into buyer-level action plans, dashboards, governance routines, and savings tracking.

  1. 01

    Complimentary fit assessment

    A free 30-minute Inventory Management Maturity Assessment to understand your data, systems, and where cash is likely trapped.

  2. 02

    Data & quality review

    We pull SKU-level demand history and inventory data and run a data quality review before any findings are built.

  3. 03

    Diagnostic — 2D Cash Scan

    Inventory levels are compared to ideal levels, with a cash unlock opportunity identified for every SKU and packaged into a board-ready inventory health report.

  4. 04

    Time-phased modeling — 3D Cash Scan

    SKU segmentation feeds up to 5 stocking policy scenarios, each showing the time-phased burn-down of inventory over a 6–12 month period — so you can see how different strategy changes actually play out, not just their end-state value.

  5. 05

    Implementation Management

    Findings become buyer-level action plans, governance routines, and dashboards — with weekly working sessions and PMO support to realize savings.

Service Tiers

Pick your starting point.

Every engagement starts with a 2D Cash Scan. Move further only when the diagnostic shows it's worth it.

What's included 2D Cash Scan $15,000 2–3 weeks from receipt of data See what you get ↓ Most popular 3D Cash Scan $25,000 3–4 weeks from receipt of data See what you get ↓ Implementation Management Custom 3 months+ See what you get ↓
Inventory management maturity assessment ✓ ✓ ✓
Data quality review ✓ ✓ ✓
SKU-level demand forecast ✓ ✓ ✓
Excess inventory identification ✓ ✓ ✓
Service risk & understock identification ✓ ✓ ✓
Cash release opportunity assessment ✓ ✓ ✓
Board-ready inventory health report ✓ ✓ ✓
3D time-phased modeling
Generate new ABC SKU segmentation — ✓ ✓
Time-phased inventory burn-down (6–12 months) — ✓ ✓
Cash release scenario modeling — ✓ ✓
Service level / stocking policy scenarios — ✓ ✓
Recommended stocking policy by SKU group — ✓ ✓
Implementation
Implementation roadmap — — ✓
Savings realization support (PMO) — — ✓
Implementation governance framework — — ✓
Weekly working sessions with buyer/planning team — — ✓
Inventory health dashboard — — ✓
See what you get ↓ See what you get ↓ See what you get ↓

Interested in learning more?

Start the conversation

What You Get

Real work product, not just a pitch.

Sample 2D Cash Scan output

SKU-level opportunity detail

An illustrative excerpt of the SKU-level output every 2D Cash Scan produces — figures shown are for illustration only, not a guarantee of your results.

SKU ABC Class Qty on Hand Unit Cost Avg Daily Demand Target Service Level Target Inventory Level Days on Hand Excess (Deficit) Days on Hand Working Capital Impact Status
SKU-10214 A 1,240 $18.40 22.5 96% 810 55.1 +19.1 $7,912 Overstocked
SKU-30588 A 2,450 $9.60 38.0 96% 1,710 64.5 +19.5 $7,104 Overstocked
SKU-40217 B 3,180 $4.25 52.0 94% 3,050 61.2 +2.5 $553 On Target
SKU-51102 B 96 $64.00 6.8 94% 170 14.1 −10.9 ($4,736) Understocked
SKU-62290 C 5,640 $2.10 62.0 90% 3,720 91.0 +31.0 $4,032 Overstocked
SKU-70044 C 40 $148.00 3.2 90% 96 12.5 −17.5 ($8,288) Understocked
Sample 3D Cash Scan output

Time-phased burn-down by inventory segment

Includes everything in the 2D Cash Scan, plus a 12-month, time-phased view. Adjust the target service level for each SKU class to see the projected impact — illustrative, not a guarantee of your results.

Class A target service level 97%
Class B target service level 92%
Class C target service level 80%
Class D target service level 50%
12-month change by class
Class A $0
Class B $0
Class C $0
Class D $0
Total working capital impact $0
Class A Class B Class C Class D
Implementation Management

What you get when you move to full implementation

Everything in the 2D and 3D Cash Scan, plus hands-on support turning findings into realized savings.

Inventory Health Dashboard

Actual vs. target, tracked monthly

A living view of inventory value against target — actual results logged as they land, target glide path shown for the months ahead.

Actual Target
Initiative Governance Framework

Every initiative tracked from idea to verified impact

A simple maturity gate keeps leadership focused on what matters — is this initiative real, is it on track, and is the value actually landing.

L0
Idea documented

Initial idea submitted and documented

L1
Value estimated

Preliminary sizing and impact estimate

L2
Value validated

Scope, financial impact, and action plan defined

L3
Implementation active

Plan finalized and work underway

L4
Plan complete

Actions to realize value are complete

L5
Impact validated

Benefits observed and confirmed in the numbers

Governance Rhythm

A cadence that builds visibility without adding meeting overload

Typical time commitment: project owners 1–1.5 hours per week; leadership 1–2 hours per week during steering weeks.

Weekly
Project team check-ins

Project owners and PMO lead review progress, risks, and decisions needed — 15–60 minutes.

Bi-weekly
Steering committee reviews

Leadership team reviews key projects, approves next steps, and clears roadblocks — 1–2 hours.

Monthly
ELT & Board updates

Executive leadership and the board review progress against targets — 1 hour.

Why Arcos Group

Corporate transformation is the whole practice, not a side offering.

Arcos Group focuses exclusively on corporate transformation. We support the full lifecycle of a transformation program — from diagnostics and bankable plan development, to interim leadership, execution support, and practical technology solutions.

Inventory optimization engagements are built on the same discipline: SKU-level data, not assumptions; fixed-fee scopes, not open-ended hours; and a bias toward findings your team can actually implement.

01

Diagnostics & bankable plans

Findings are built to withstand board and lender scrutiny, not just internal review.

02

Interim leadership

We can sit inside your team during implementation, not just hand off a deck.

03

Execution support

Governance routines and PMO support so savings are realized, not just identified.

04

Practical technology

Dashboards and tools sized to your team, not a multi-year platform rollout.

FAQ

Questions we hear from CFOs and operations leaders.

SKU-level demand history and inventory data — typically exports from your ERP or WMS covering historical demand, on-hand inventory, lead times, and location. We run a data quality review as part of every engagement, so imperfect data is expected and accounted for, not a blocker to starting.

The 2D Cash Scan runs 2–3 weeks from receipt of data to your board-ready inventory health report. The 3D Cash Scan builds directly on those findings and runs 3–4 weeks from receipt of data for the time-phased, 6–12 month burn-down modeling. Implementation Management timelines run 3 months or more, scoped around your rollout pace once the diagnostic and modeling are done.

No system integration is required for the 2D Cash Scan or 3D Cash Scan — we work from data extracts, not a live connection. Implementation Management engagements may involve building a dashboard, which is scoped and agreed with your IT team up front.

Yes. Data is used solely for your engagement, handled under a mutual NDA, and is never shared, benchmarked externally, or reused for other clients without your written consent.

The 2D Cash Scan and 3D Cash Scan are fixed-fee engagements scoped before you sign anything, based on your SKU count and location footprint. Implementation Management work is custom-quoted because scope and duration depend on what the diagnostic finds and how much execution support you want — that fee is agreed before the engagement begins, not billed hourly as you go.

You keep the board-ready inventory health report regardless of outcome, and you'll have a clear, data-backed answer either way — which is itself valuable when the alternative is not knowing. In practice, most manufacturers and distributors carry meaningful excess or at-risk inventory; the diagnostic quantifies exactly how much and where.

The 2D Cash Scan is scoped specifically for lean teams: a 2–3 week (from receipt of data) fixed-fee diagnostic with no dedicated project team required on your side. Start with the complimentary 30-minute maturity assessment and we'll tell you honestly whether a full 2D Cash Scan makes sense yet.

Get Started

Can we help you achieve your transformation objectives?

Let's get in touch. Start with a complimentary 30-minute Inventory Management Maturity Assessment — no commitment required.

Book a 30-minute fit call Request a sample report

or email us at hello@arcosgroup.io