Wedge service
Three days onsite. One bound report. Where the real money is hiding.
The lowest-commitment way to bring the Brass & Bench team onto your floor. We walk the operation for three days, hand you a bound short-form report, and tell you exactly which engagement gets you the return.
- Investment
- $15,000–$22,000 all-inclusive
- Duration
- 3 days onsite + remote intake + report build (about 2 weeks elapsed)
Most owners we talk to already know something is off. Margin is slipping. Throughput is not matching the order book. The team is working harder than it should be for the output. The hard part is naming what is wrong with enough specificity to act on it. The Operational Snapshot exists for that conversation. Two partners come onsite for three working days, do the kind of walk-through a buyer's operating partner would do, and hand ownership a bound report that names the top issues, attaches conservative dollar figures to each, and tells you what kind of engagement closes the gap. No deck. No upsell language. Just the report and a direct conversation.
Quick answer
The Operational Snapshot is a 3-day onsite engagement where two Brass & Bench partners walk your manufacturing floor, review records, interview operators and ownership, and deliver a bound short-form report identifying the top 3 to 5 operational issues, conservative dollar math on each, and a recommended path forward. Pricing is $15,000 to $22,000 all-inclusive depending on facility size and complexity. It is the entry-tier engagement designed for owners who want to know what is actually wrong before committing to a deeper engagement.
By Ben Kurtz · Founding Partner. Industrial Engineering · Updated May 14, 2026Deliverables
What ownership has in their hand at the end.
1. The Snapshot Report. A bound short-form report. Typically ten to twenty pages. Executive summary written for ownership. Top three to five operational findings, each with current state, recommended future state, and a conservative dollar figure attached. Photos and timestamps where applicable. Citations to the documentation or records that anchor each finding.
2. The Recommended Path. A single page at the back of the report. Names the engagement we recommend ownership pursue next, or states explicitly that no further engagement is needed. If we recommend a Brass & Bench engagement, the credit for the Snapshot fee is applied to that engagement. If we recommend going elsewhere, we name the firm and the reason.
3. The Readback. A ninety-minute live session on day three with both partners and ownership. Every finding walked through. Every dollar figure defended. Every question answered in the room. Recording optional.
4. Thirty Days of Follow-Up. One follow-up call within thirty days of report delivery. For clarification, follow-up questions, or to scope the recommended next engagement. No charge.
Ideal client
Mid-market US manufacturers, typically $3M–$50M annual revenue, owner-operated. Strongest fit when ownership is in a decision moment: weighing a larger engagement, evaluating a partner, preparing for an outside investor, or simply trying to read their own operation more clearly. Willing to give two partners full floor access for three days and to send the intake package in advance. Not the right fit if the company is in active crisis or already mid-execution on a known fix.
The first call is a thirty-minute conversation with Mike. No pitch deck. He asks four questions and decides whether the Snapshot is the right product or whether you should be talking to us about something else.
Ready to put the team on your floor?
The first call is a thirty-minute conversation with Mike. No deck, no pitch. Just a clear understanding of whether the engagement is the right fit for what your business is trying to do.