Capital & Margin Intelligence · Benelux mid-market

A four-week engagement that ends in one number.
Then the work that moves it.

Clavis runs a single engagement with two paths through it. Four weeks to a specific euro figure inside your business. Then a managed service that stays accountable for moving it. Outcome-priced. Founder-led. Built for physical goods businesses in the Benelux between five and two hundred million euros in revenue.

Capital path · last diagnostic
2.84M
Annual carrying cost. Antwerp specialty distributor. March 2026.
Margin path · last diagnostic
3.42M
Annual leakage. Rotterdam industrial distributor. March 2026.
PLACEHOLDER · ENGAGEMENT ARCHITECTURE
the clavis engagement, sketched Diagnostic 4 weeks · fixed fee your data, your team Bootcamp 2 days · live data CFO + comm dir the figure: € 1.92M / year a board-ready one-page document. your CFO acts. Managed (Capital | Margin) Intelligence monthly briefing · drift alerts · model retraining · we stay priced as 5–10% of the improvement we deliver
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PRINCIPLE 01
"One number. Before methodology, capabilities, or credentials — a specific euro figure inside your business."
PRINCIPLE 02
"We stay. The diagnostic is what we sell to start. The managed service is what we actually do."
PRINCIPLE 03
"Proof over promise. Your data, your transactions, in your room. No sample demos. No capability decks."
Two paths · same engagement

Two ways physical goods businesses lose money. Pick the one that sounds like yours.

Clavis Capital Intelligence · Path A

The cash is in your warehouse. Not in your forecast. Not in your pipeline.

Most owner-managed distributors carry 20–30% more inventory than they need — and pay for it twice: once in financing cost, again in obsolescence. The engagement names the figure in four weeks. The managed service makes it deployable, and keeps it that way.

Built for
Owner-CEO · €5–50M
Typical figure surfaced
€2–3M / year
PLACEHOLDER · CAPITAL TRAP, SKETCHED
your P&L tells one story. your warehouse tells another. P&L · 2025 Revenue € 8.4M COGS € 5.6M Operating € 1.6M Profit € 1.2M ✓ “but where’s the cash?” carrying cost / year: € 2.84M paid every year. until it is not.
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The engagement, in five stages

A diagnostic that turns into an active service. The fifth stage is the destination.

PLACEHOLDER · ENGAGEMENT JOURNEY
five stages \u00b7 we walk you through every one 01 diagnostic name the figure 02 forecasting right-size demand 03 optimisation release the cash 04 procurement time the inputs 05 \u00b7 destination Managed Capital Intelligence we stay stages 1\u20134 are work. stage 5 is the relationship.
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STAGE 01 · DIAGNOSTIC
Name the figure.
In four weeks, you have the exact annual cost of carrying inventory you don't need — broken down by where it's coming from.
We connect to your ERP, classify every SKU, and quantify carrying cost across capital, storage, handling, insurance, and obsolescence. You walk away with one figure your board can act on — and a clear view of which 15–25% of inventory is responsible for 60–80% of the cost. The diagnostic is a complete engagement on its own. You can stop after it. Most don't.
What the diagnostic delivers

A board-ready document. One figure. One page that survives the meeting.

REF · CL-CAP-2026-021
CLIENT · SPECIALTY FOODS IMPORTER · GHENT
CLAVIS CAPITAL INTELLIGENCE — DIAGNOSTIC OUTPUT
ISSUED · 06.04.2026
STATUS · VALIDATED
Annual carrying cost · trapped working capital
1.92M
"Paid every year. Until it isn't."
Releasable · 18 months
€2.7M
Capital deployable for growth, debt reduction, or distribution
237 overstocked SKUs >180 days cover · 18% of catalogue
€820,000
42.7%
Reorder logic drift Thresholds last reviewed 2022 · 4 product lines
€520,000
27.1%
Lead-time variance Safety stock built on average · not on distribution
€350,000
18.2%
Obsolescence exposure 89 SKUs zero movement · 12 months
€230,000
12.0%
→ The headline finding, in plain language
The top 18% of your catalogue carries 70% of the cost. Those 237 SKUs aren't slow movers — they're well-loved products that have been over-ordered for two years because nobody updated the reorder rules. Three operations managers have come and gone. Nobody had reason to question the rules they inherited. Fix that, and you free €1.1M in twelve months — without firing a sales rep, dropping a customer, or renegotiating a single contract.
What the managed service delivers, every month

A monthly briefing for your CFO. Same format. Same cadence. One page.

Managed Capital Intelligence — Monthly Briefing
PERIOD · APR 2026 · CYCLE 11/24
Capital released to date
1.10M
68% of 18-month target · ahead of plan
Carrying cost · annualised run-rate
0.82M
€780K below baseline · sustained Q3+Q4
SKUs trending the wrong way
14
4 already addressed · 10 in this month's review
Events this period · what we acted on
02 APR
Reorder threshold drift detected — premium roast SKUs Safety stock recalibrated for 6 SKUs. Estimated drag avoided: €18K/quarter.
11 APR
Green coffee futures signal — 3-week buying window Procurement notified. Client purchased ahead of 8% spike. Saving: ~€42K on Q2 commitment.
18 APR
14 SKUs flagged for slow-movement review Cross-checked with sales team. 4 confirmed for drawdown; 10 deferred pending Q3 launch.
26 APR
Demand model retraining — quarterly cadence Updated forecasts incorporate new wholesale channel data. No reorder rule changes required this cycle.
For your decision
Drawdown plan · phase 3 4 SKU groups proposed for accelerated drawdown. Estimated capital release: €240K. Awaiting commercial sign-off.
Supplier consolidation · arabica Procurement signal suggests window to consolidate to 2 of 5 current suppliers. Margin impact modelled.
Clavis Margin Intelligence · Path B

The leak is in every quote. Not in your strategy. Not in your competitive position.

Most distributors lose 2–4% of revenue every year through pricing variance they can't see — overdiscounted top customers, rep-level inconsistency, small-deal drift. The engagement names the figure in four weeks. The managed service makes the model the default, and keeps it that way.

Built for
CFO · CommDir · €20–200M
Typical figure surfaced
€1–4M / year
PLACEHOLDER · MARGIN LEAK, SKETCHED
revenue keeps climbing. margin stays flat. why? \u20ac revenue \u2197 margin \u2192 zoom in here \u2192 QUOTE the leak is in every quote. not in the strategy.
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The engagement, in five stages

A diagnostic that turns into an active service. The fifth stage is the destination.

PLACEHOLDER · ENGAGEMENT JOURNEY
five stages \u00b7 we walk you through every one 01 diagnostic name the leak 02 elasticity defensible floors 03 competitive watch the market 04 deal-level quote with intelligence 05 \u00b7 destination Managed Margin Intelligence we stay stages 1\u20134 are work. stage 5 is the relationship.
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STAGE 01 · DIAGNOSTIC
Name the leak.
In four weeks, you have the exact annual margin leakage in your transactional book — broken down by customer, rep, deal size, and product.
We connect to your transactional data — ERP, CRM, quoting system — and analyse margin variance at every cut. You walk away with one figure your board can act on, and the precise distribution showing where it's coming from. The diagnostic is a complete engagement on its own. You can stop after it. Most don't, because the variance you've been blaming on competitive pressure usually has a different name.
What the diagnostic delivers

A board-ready document. One figure. One page that survives the meeting.

REF · CL-MGN-2026-009
CLIENT · INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION · ROTTERDAM
CLAVIS MARGIN INTELLIGENCE — DIAGNOSTIC OUTPUT
ISSUED · 22.03.2026
STATUS · VALIDATED
Annual margin leakage · across transactional book
3.42M
"4.1% of revenue. Quietly compounding."
Recoverable · 12 months
€1.7–2.1M
Sustained recovery, conservative end of model
Top 12% of customers · overdiscounted 187 accounts · margin >6 ppts below segment median
€1,440,000
42.1%
3 of 22 sales reps · variance outliers Same product mix · 38% of total variance
€890,000
26.0%
Small-deal pricing drift <€5K orders · 4.8 ppts below large-deal equivalent
€620,000
18.1%
2 product lines underpriced vs market 14 SKU groups affected · pricing 8–14% below ceiling
€470,000
13.8%
→ The headline finding, in plain language
Your most loyal customers are priced most generously, by a small group of reps. 187 accounts — the top 12% of your book — sit more than six margin points below where they should be. Three reps, on the same product mix as everyone else, account for 38% of the variance. The names will be in the appendix.
What the managed service delivers, every month

A monthly briefing for your CFO. Same format. Same cadence. One page.

Managed Margin Intelligence — Monthly Briefing
PERIOD · APR 2026 · CYCLE 14/24
Margin recovered · run-rate
2.10M
Annualised · sustained two cycles
Quote adoption · model coverage
73%
Up 4 ppts · 19 of 22 reps now consistent
Accounts trending the wrong way
8
3 reviewed with CommDir · 5 in this period's pack
Events this period · what we acted on
04 APR
Top-customer overdiscount detected — Account #4421 Margin 7.2 ppts below tier median. Rep alerted; renegotiation scheduled. Estimated annual recovery: €88K.
12 APR
Competitor price movement — Stainless category Two competitors raised list pricing 3.5%. Floor recommendations updated; floor unchanged for 11 SKU groups, raised for 3.
19 APR
Small-deal threshold revisited Sub-€3K quotes now flagged for automatic rep review. Margin protection of an estimated €14K/month based on Q1 patterns.
28 APR
Elasticity model retraining Updated with Q1 transaction data. 6 customer segments adjusted; ceiling raised on 2 product lines.
For your decision
Top-12 account renegotiation pack Eight accounts cleared for renegotiation in May. Total margin uplift if completed: €340K annual run-rate.
Rep coaching · two outliers Two reps remaining below 60% model adoption. Coaching session proposed with CommDir for May cycle.
The destination · stage 5

Managed Capital Intelligence. Managed Margin Intelligence. The service that stays.

Most engagements deliver a plan and walk away. Inventory creeps back. Margin discipline slips. The figure that looked good at close-out is gone two quarters later. The diagnostic is what we sell to start. The managed service is what we actually do.

Path A · Capital Trap
Managed Capital Intelligence
"Working capital that was released, stays released. Procurement decisions that were timed, keep being timed. The model in your business gets better, not stale."
  • Monthly CFO briefing. Capital position vs baseline, drift alerts, decisions awaiting your sign-off. One page.
  • Continuous demand monitoring. Reorder logic recalibrated as your business shifts. SKU velocity tracked. Slow-movement flagged before it becomes obsolescence.
  • Procurement intelligence. Commodity signals, supplier patterns, recommended buying windows for your specific input categories.
  • Quarterly model retraining. Forecasting models stay current as customer mix and channel evolve.
Path B · Margin Leak
Managed Margin Intelligence
"Margin that was recovered, stays recovered. Pricing discipline becomes the default, not the exception. New customers, new reps, new market shifts — the model adapts before the leak comes back."
  • Monthly CFO + CommDir briefing. Margin position vs baseline, adoption telemetry, accounts trending the wrong way. One page.
  • Adoption tracking. Which reps are pricing through the model. Where margin discipline holds. Where it slips. Coached, not policed.
  • Competitive movement alerts. When a key competitor moves on price. When a tender pattern shifts. When an account signals they're shopping.
  • Quarterly model retraining. Elasticity assumptions updated as the transactional book evolves.
Commercial structure
5–10%
Of the financial improvement actually delivered against a baseline we set together at retainer kick-off. Plus a fixed monthly fee for the operational cadence. Not project hours. Not seats. Not subscription tiers. The improvement.
Engagement cadence
Monthly
A briefing in your inbox the first week of every month. A live review with the team that built the model. The same team you met in the bootcamp. No handover. No account manager rotation. No call centre.
Accountability
Tracked
Every month, every retainer, against the baseline. If we don't move the figure, you don't pay the variable component. If we move it less than we committed, you only pay on what we actually delivered.
How it starts

Two days. Your data. Your team. The reveal happens live.

Every engagement starts the same way: a four-week diagnostic that ends in a two-day session with your CFO and commercial lead in the room. No sample data. No methodology slides. Your transactions, your customers, your figure — surfaced together.

DAY 0 · PRE-BUILD
We extract your data and find the drama before you arrive.
A 30-minute intake call. A static data extract two weeks before the session. Our team identifies the two or three findings that will land hardest — and arrives knowing where the leak lives.
DAYS 1–2 · THE SESSION
Your CFO and commercial lead in the room with the data.
Two days. Nobody else. The figure on the screen, traced back to the transactions that produced it. Then we co-build a 90-day activation plan — yours to keep regardless of whether you continue with us.
DAY 3+ · DECIDE
A retainer proposal with a specific fee and a tracked outcome.
Same room, same week. A proposal priced as a percentage of the improvement we commit to delivering. If we don't move the figure, you don't pay the variable component. Your call.
€10–30K
Fixed fee. Capped scope. Named upfront. The diagnostic is a complete engagement on its own — you can stop after it.
The guarantee. If the diagnostic does not surface at least 3–5× the diagnostic fee in recoverable capital or margin, we don't bill you. The accountability we ask of the retainer applies to the engagement that gets us there.
Validated cases · in the client's words

Three engagements. Three figures we stayed accountable for.

CAPITAL · LIVE
Specialty coffee · roaster · €18–22M
"I started by asking about my bank. I'm now asking Stig about coffee futures."
Owner-CEO · attribution pending publication consent
€1.6M
Working capital releasable on €5.4M position
Time to figure
4 weeks
Engagement
Active retainer
MARGIN · LIVE
Industrial distribution · specialty metals · €48–55M
"We didn't need another strategy. We needed someone to stay long enough to make sure the strategy worked."
CFO · attribution pending publication consent
€2.1M
Annual margin recovery, sustained two cycles
Quote adoption
73% of deals
Engagement
Active retainer
CAPITAL · NETWORK
Fuel & convenience retail · 200+ locations
"A volume optimisation model running across the entire network — independently validated at a ~10% improvement on the targeted category."
Engagement summary · operational lead
~10%
Volume improvement, network-wide deployment
Sites covered
Network-wide
Engagement
Retainer pending
Where your data sits

A CFO's first question — answered before you ask it.

Compliance & regulation
  • GDPR. Data protection and privacy by design — every engagement, every dataset, every report.
  • EU AI Act. Compliance posture in progress. Full documentation maintained for the regulator.
  • ISO 27001. Information security management — certification in progress. Controls already implemented.
  • Data residency. All client data hosted on EU servers. No transfer outside the EU. No exceptions.
How we connect to your business
  • Read-only access by default. The diagnostic never writes back to your systems. No risk to live operations.
  • NDA and DPA in place before data extract. Standard mid-market terms. Your legal team's preferred templates accepted.
  • Encryption at rest and in transit. 256-bit AES. Audit log for every access event.
  • Data destroyed on engagement close. Or retained, encrypted, for the life of the retainer — your choice, in writing.
ERP systems we connect to
SAPMicrosoft DynamicsOdooExactAFASNetSuiteSageand others, on request
Founder-led · Direct

The first conversation is with Stig.

If we're going to be accountable for a figure inside your business, you should know who's accountable for it. Forty-five minutes. We use it to understand whether the engagement fits — and to be honest if it doesn't.

What you'll know after the call
"Whether the engagement makes sense for your business — and roughly what figure we'd expect it to surface. Or, if it doesn't fit, who you should be talking to instead."
45-minute call
Founder responds within 24h
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