Weekly Call w/ Gilbert — Campaign Performance & Inventory Overhaul (2026-01-21)
Attendees: Gilbert Barrongo, Mark Hope, Karly Oykhman (partial)
Client: [1]
Recording: Fathom
Overview
Review of recovering Amazon campaign performance and a significant overhaul of the inventory management process. The session was prompted by a 1.5-month sales slump (Nov 25–Jan 18) caused by stockouts. The team aligned on a 60-day inventory buffer target, monthly standing orders for top sellers, and a plan to clear AWD inventory by March.
Key Decisions
| Decision | Detail |
|---|---|
| 60-day inventory buffer | Raise the reorder trigger from 30 days to 60 days for all SKUs to absorb supply chain variability |
| Monthly standing orders for top sellers | Ship 1,000 units each of Yellow Popcorn, White Popcorn, and Yellow Cornmeal, plus 500 units of Black Beans (5 lb) every month until further notice |
| AWD clearance by March | Transfer all AWD units to FBA; target zero AWD inventory by March to eliminate expiration risk |
| Increase Old World bids | Old World campaign ROAS is 4.89 — incrementally raise bids to capture more impressions |
| Blue Haven Kidney Beans order increase | Raise next shipment from 134 to 200 units; sold 67 last month with zero ad spend |
| Coupons for slow-moving stock | 20–25% coupons on aged inventory (6+ months → 20%; 12+ months → 25%) |
Action Items
- [ ] Gilbert — Add a "Shipped, not yet receiving" column to the inventory spreadsheet to track inbound units not yet visible in FBA/AWD reports
- [ ] Gilbert — Fix the "Months of Inventory" formula (currently showing nonsense values, e.g., 150 months for Navy Beans, 480 months for Great Northern Beans)
- [ ] Gilbert — Notify Karly when the updated spreadsheet is ready so she can finalize shipment quantities
- [ ] Gilbert — Document the new Google Ads copy procedure (ChatGPT-assisted) in ClickUp
- [ ] Karly — Email Jason to establish the monthly standing order: 1,000 Yellow Popcorn, 1,000 White Popcorn, 1,000 Yellow Cornmeal, 500 Black Beans (5 lb)
- [ ] Karly — Use the updated inventory sheet to identify and create any additional shipment orders beyond the standing order
- [ ] Gilbert & Karly — Coordinate transfer of all AWD inventory to FBA; clear AWD by March
Campaign Performance
Overall
- ROAS improved from 3.2 → 3.34 (30-day window) following bid increases last week
- Recovery is underway after the Nov 25–Jan 18 slump; last 3–4 days of sales have been strong
Top Campaigns
- Defense Campaign — #1 for sales; successfully defending brand keywords across the catalog
- Old World — ROAS of 4.89; plan to incrementally increase bids for more impressions and sales volume
Keyword Rankings (spot-checked in incognito)
| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| "Organic Popcorn Kernels" | #1 sponsored top-of-search (Yellow); #1 sponsored video; #8 organic (Yellow), #10 organic (White) |
| "Dry Organic Black Beans" | #1 sponsored brands video; #2 sponsored top-of-search; #3 organic |
Notable: Black beans rank #2–3 despite being priced at ~$6/lb vs. the nearest competitor (Mayorga) at ~$3.40/lb. Strong brand value signal.
Inventory Management Overhaul
Root Cause of the Slump
Sales dropped sharply on November 25 and did not recover until January 18 — a ~7-week slump driven entirely by stockouts. Contributing factors included Amazon's own fulfillment delays and a reorder trigger that was too low (30 days).
"The biggest calamity we've had in the last two years is that inventory… from November 30th until January 15th, that's a month and a half, we got our [sales] kicked, and it was all because of inventory." — Mark Hope
New Inventory Framework
- Target buffer: 60 days of inventory on hand or inbound at all times
- Reorder logic: Gilbert directs Karly on exact quantities based on the updated spreadsheet; Karly executes shipment orders
- New spreadsheet column: "Shipped, not yet receiving" — captures units in transit that don't yet appear in FBA or AWD reports (previously invisible, causing underestimation of inbound stock)
Why 60 Days?
Supply chain variability is significant: freight pickup delays, carrier consolidation holds, Amazon receiving backlogs, and weather events can each add 1–2 weeks. Running tight on inventory is asymmetrically risky — overstocking by a month costs little; stocking out costs weeks of sales velocity and organic ranking.
Monthly Standing Orders (Top Sellers)
| SKU | Monthly Quantity |
|---|---|
| Yellow Popcorn | 1,000 units |
| White Popcorn | 1,000 units |
| Yellow Cornmeal | 1,000 units |
| Black Beans (5 lb) | 500 units |
These should ship on a fixed monthly schedule (e.g., the 15th of each month) without waiting for a reorder trigger.
AWD Strategy
- Decision: Stop using AWD; transfer all remaining AWD units to FBA
- Target: AWD at zero by March 2026
- Rationale:
- AWD is not performing automated replenishment to FBA as intended
- FBA inventory moves fast enough that expiration is not a risk there
- AWD inventory sits idle and is at expiration risk
- May revisit AWD later, but current experience has not been positive
Product-Specific Notes
Blue Haven Kidney Beans
- Sold 67 units last month with zero ad spend — entirely organic
- Stocked out; next order increased from 134 → 200 units
- High-margin, no advertising cost; worth scaling
Slow-Moving / Problem Inventory
- Running 20–25% coupons to clear aged stock; early results are positive
- Formula bug: "Months of Inventory" column is broken — showing 150 months (Navy Beans), 480 months (Great Northern Beans). Gilbert to fix.
- Slow movers include: Canary Beans, Great Northern Beans, Navy Beans, Whole Wheat Flour
- Bids on slow movers are being held back deliberately to protect overall account ROAS
Process & Tooling
Google Ads Copy Procedure
Gilbert is building a repeatable ChatGPT-assisted procedure for ad copy creation:
- Identify dynamic keyword insertion opportunities
- Define persona and psychological benefits
- Pin primary keywords to headlines
- Document the full procedure in ClickUp so it can be applied across all client accounts
AI-Assisted Website Development
Mark has implemented a workflow where AI accesses the website via API in a dev environment to make fixes directly — rather than generating instructions for a human to execute. Changes are validated in dev before being pushed to production. Faster, cheaper, and more scalable than the previous ClickUp task → contractor workflow.
Related
- [2]
- [3]
- [4]
- [5]