Manufacturing & Distribution
Years Serving Ohio Businesses
Professionals In Your Industry
Offices Across Ohio and Florida
Built for the Businesses That Build Things
Manufacturing and distribution businesses don’t all operate the same way. The cost structure of a metals fabricator is different from a CPG brand. The compliance picture for a national distributor looks nothing like a regional retailer. Rea’s practice serves all of these structures — with advisors who specialize in each.
Industrial Manufacturers — Metals, Plastics & Wood
Tax planning, cost and profitability analysis, assurance, ERP guidance, and succession planning for metal fabricators, plastics processors, wood products manufacturers, and precision parts producers.
Consumer Packaged Goods
Margin analysis down to the product level, ERP implementation, fractional CFO support, and tax planning for food, beverage, personal care, and branded consumer goods businesses.
Distribution & Wholesale
Profitability analysis, multi-state SALT compliance, outsourced controller and CFO support, ERP guidance, and transition planning for wholesale distributors, manufacturer’s reps, and value-added resellers.
Retail & E-Commerce
Inventory visibility, channel margin modeling, sales tax compliance for multi-state sellers, systems selection, and close process improvement for retailers, DTC brands, and omnichannel businesses.
Not Sure Where You Fit?
If your business spans multiple categories or you’re not sure which page describes you best, talk to our manufacturing and distribution team directly.
Core Services Built Around Your Business
Rea’s manufacturing and distribution practice covers the full range of financial, operational, and advisory needs that these businesses face — coordinated across disciplines so clients aren’t managing multiple firms for adjacent problems.
Financial Foundation
- Audits, reviews, and compilations
- Strategic tax preparation and planning
- R&D credits and manufacturing exemptions
- Multi-state SALT compliance
- Entity structure and owner tax planning
- Succession and transition planning
- Retirement plan consulting & audits
Operational & Financial Advisory
- Operational profitability & cost analysis
- Strategic pricing and margin management
- Cash flow modeling and management
- Inventory optimization
- Budgeting, forecasting & scenario planning
- Fractional CFO and controller support
- Board and leadership reporting
Technology & Additional Services
- ERP selection and implementation
- Performance analytics and KPI dashboards
- Warehouse management system selection
- Managed IT services
- Cybersecurity risk assessment
- Wealth management
- Payroll services
Our Manufacturing & Distribution Industry Leaders
Rea’s manufacturing and distribution professionals have spent careers inside the industries they now advise. They’ve walked shop floors, run large operations, and made the decisions your business depends on. That experience shapes how they work with clients.
Ryan Brickwood, CMA, MBA
Principal, Manufacturing & Distribution Industry Leader
Ryan leads Rea’s manufacturing and distribution practice with nearly 20 years of accounting and manufacturing experience, including a career at Smucker’s where he worked on cost analysis, ERP implementations, and lean operations across a multi-billion-dollar CPG operation. He joined Rea in 2022 and earned the firm’s 2023 Tim McDaniel Award for Innovation.
Mindy Gallman
Managing Director
Mindy brings over 30 years of financial leadership inside manufacturing and distribution businesses, including roles as Controller, VP of Finance, and CFO across private, private equity, and public companies. She has managed a $350M multi-country operation and worked directly inside wholesale distribution — experience she applies daily to her work with Rea clients.
Andrew Geiser, CPA
Principal
Andrew has over a decade of experience serving manufacturing, distribution, and retail clients, with a focus on strategic tax planning, cost optimization, and operational consulting. A Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and graduate of BDO’s Emerging Leader program, he brings a problem-solving approach that regularly goes beyond what a traditional CPA engagement covers.
Allison Stucke
Senior Manager, Manufacturing & Distribution
Allison brings nearly 30 years of hands-on manufacturing finance experience to her work with Rea clients, including senior plant finance and operational controller roles across the fertilizer and flavor manufacturing industries. Her background spans cost accounting, pricing and margin management, and supply chain analysis.
Adam Letera
Senior Manager, Manufacturing & Distribution
Adam has more than 15 years of experience spanning plant finance, operational accounting, and strategic advisory roles in the consumer goods industry. He specializes in e-commerce advisory, ERP and warehouse management system selection, and inventory management for manufacturers and retailers.
Matt Wenger, CPA, MSA
Principal
Matt has over 15 years of public accounting experience with deep expertise in assurance services, GAAP financial reporting, and complex revenue and equity arrangements for manufacturing clients. He specializes in helping manufacturers build the financial reporting infrastructure that supports growth, banking relationships, and ownership transitions.
What Our Clients Say
Manufacturing and distribution clients stay with Rea because the work goes well beyond the return and into the business itself.
Serving Manufacturers and Distributors Across Ohio
With manufacturing activity in 86 of Ohio’s 88 counties, the sector isn’t concentrated in one region — and neither is Rea. Our 15 offices are positioned throughout the state, from the industrial corridor of Northeast Ohio to the hardwood regions of Holmes and Coshocton counties, the CPG producers of Central Ohio to the distribution networks along the I-75 corridor. Our team knows the local labor markets, the state and county tax environment, and the operational realities that shape every recommendation we make.
Other Ways Rea Can Help
Tax for Business
Business and owner tax strategy built around your entity structure and growth stage.
ERP Implementation Services
System selection, configuration, and implementation for manufacturers and distributors that have outgrown their current platform.
State and Local Tax
Multi-state nexus analysis and compliance for manufacturers selling, sourcing, or shipping beyond Ohio.
From Our Experts
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