PRO Diagnostics

PRO diagnostics identify where the operating model is losing value — before capital is misallocated.

Operator-built and verified across 20+ years in KeHE / UNFI channel economics and meat/seafood retail — where the real operating model lives.

How PRO identifies margin pressure

Diagnose

Identify where margin is being compressed across operations or channel execution.

Isolate

Separate structural issues from execution issues.

Correct

Remove, constrain, or rebuild the operating model.

This is not advisory. This is operational correction.

Why PRO Diagnostics Are Different

Four resources exist. None of them produce a diagnostic.

Management consultants don't carry KeHE margin structure fluency, MCB accounting, or how inbound fees behave across DC count. Brokers are incentive-conflicted — their margin comes from placement, not accuracy. Portals like KeHE Connect and distributor scorecards report what happened, not why the economics are moving in the wrong direction. Internal teams are too close to the original decision to read the model without sunk-cost bias.

PRO diagnostics exist in the gap none of those resources fill: an operator-built framework that reads the financial mechanics of your distributor-channel model as a system, not as a checklist. That's the only way to produce a Go / Constrain / Stop output that carries enough operator confidence to act on.

PRO operates as an independent, channel-neutral diagnostic practice. The work is designed to improve supplier operational readiness and commercial alignment, not to target any distributor relationship.

The Framework
Problem Identified

Operating model shows signs of margin pressure or structural risk.

Diagnostic Deployed

Operator-built framework examines the model as a financial system.

Go / Constrain / Stop

The framework resolves to one output. Operator-verified, not algorithmic.

Engagement Pathway

The output drives scope and structure of every PRO engagement.

The Output

Every PRO diagnostic resolves to one of three outputs. The output drives the engagement pathway.

GO

The model is structurally sound. Scale with confidence.

CONSTRAIN

The model holds at current scope. Growth amplifies the operating gap.

STOP

The model erodes margin under continued operation. Re-architect or exit.

“I built PRO because the diagnostic that suppliers actually need doesn’t exist in the portals, doesn’t exist with the brokers, and doesn’t exist in generic consulting. It comes from operators who’ve worked across retail and distribution channels — and that’s the only place this framework could come from.”

Scott Short — Founder & Managing Principal, Prime Retail Operations

Engage PRO.

Submit the operating issue. PRO reviews fit, urgency, and recovery potential before a briefing is scheduled.

PRO helps suppliers scale with stronger channel readiness, cleaner execution, and fewer preventable margin failures.