Whether you are an adjuster assigning the inventory portion of a loss, an attorney retaining an expert, or a trustee who needs a defensible number, the process should look roughly like this.
1. Scope call
A confidential conversation to understand the loss or the dispute: what kind of business, what happened, what the policy or the matter requires, and what documentation exists. We tell you what the engagement involves and what it will produce. There is no rate card; every matter is scoped individually.
2. Records
Helpful documents, in rough order of value:
- POS or inventory-management export as close to the loss date as possible
- Distributor invoices and statements for the preceding 12 months or more
- Prior physical counts, audits or lender field exams
- Shelf and back-room photographs, security footage, planograms
- The insured's price file or shelf-tag history
- Any existing appraisal or loss schedule
Incomplete records are normal after a loss. Reconstruction from partial data is a large part of the work, and knowing what a store of that type and volume typically carries is what makes it possible.
3. Reconstruction and identification
The records are reconciled into a single SKU-level schedule. Every line is identified: producer, product, size, and, for allocated and collectible items, release and year. This is where the difference between an industry expert and a generalist shows most clearly.
4. Valuation
Each line is priced on the basis the policy or matter requires, with alternative bases shown for high-value items. Sources are documented: live distributor cost and allocation data, state pricing schedules, verified retail, auction and secondary-market data, with dates.
5. Report
A written report that explains the method, the sources, the assumptions and the results in language written for the reader, plus the itemized schedule. Where a physical inspection or count was performed, it is documented.
6. Support
Availability for adjuster and counsel calls, responses to questions from the other side, appraisal-panel participation, and deposition or trial testimony when the engagement calls for it.
Book a consultation to discuss a specific matter.