Doudlah Farms Amazon FBA Inventory Management
Overview
Inventory stockouts have been identified as the primary driver of sales declines for Doudlah Farms on Amazon. A new tracking system ("Shipment Info" worksheet) has been implemented to provide full visibility into all FBA shipments, and a target of resolving all current stockouts within two weeks was set as of the 2026-02-25 weekly call.
The core operational goal is to maintain a minimum 6-month inventory level for all products at all times.
Current Stockout Status (as of 2026-02-25)
| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| Kidney Beans (25 lb) | At or near zero — critical stockout |
| Black Beans | Incoming inventory in transit |
| Yellow Cornmeal | Incoming inventory in transit |
| Popcorn | Incoming inventory in transit |
All stockouts are expected to be resolved within two weeks of the call date.
Shipment Info Tracker
A "Shipment Info" worksheet was built to track every Amazon FBA shipment from creation through closure. Key details:
- Updated daily by Gilbert
- Tracks all shipment IDs, product quantities, and status dates
- Shipment statuses flow through approximately 8 stages: Working → For Pickup → In Transit → Receiving → Closed (plus Canceled/Deleted)
- Excluded from active calculations: Working, For Pickup, Closed, Canceled, and Deleted shipments — only active in-transit and receiving shipments count toward available inventory
- Color coding: Yellow = below 6-month threshold (action required); Green = sufficient stock
- A macro suppresses negative "quantity to ship" values (i.e., products already above the 6-month target) to reduce visual noise
6-Month Inventory Target
The tracker flags any product with less than 6 months of inventory on hand. When a product goes yellow, a replenishment shipment should be initiated. The bi-weekly review cadence (Karly → Jason) is the current operating rhythm for triggering new shipments.
Raw Materials Tracking
Finished-goods FBA inventory is only part of the picture. The team identified a gap: raw materials (clean beans, bags, boxes) are not yet tracked in the same system, creating a risk of upstream stockouts even when FBA shipments are scheduled.
Current State
- Lucy (client-side) maintains a separate bag inventory spreadsheet
- Raw beans are stored at E-Town Cold Storage (Edgerton), a temperature-controlled facility with a web portal for inventory visibility
Planned Improvements
- Bag & box inventory: Karly to share Lucy's bag inventory spreadsheet with Gilbert; Gilbert to add bag/box columns to the Shipment Info tracker, cross-referenced against sales rate to project 6-month needs
- Raw bean inventory: Karly to request login credentials for the E-Town Cold Storage platform so the team can directly monitor raw bean stock levels
Key Decisions
- No changes to Amazon ad strategy until inventory stabilizes — ROAS decline (3.4 → 3.34 over 30 days) is attributed entirely to stockouts, not campaign performance
- Maintain bi-weekly replenishment review cadence with Jason
- Expand tracker scope to include raw materials (bags, boxes, beans) to prevent future upstream stockouts
Action Items
| Owner | Task |
|---|---|
| Karly | Share bag inventory spreadsheet with Gilbert |
| Gilbert | Add bag/box columns to Shipment Info tracker |
| Karly | Request E-Town Cold Storage login credentials |
| Karly | Review raw bean inventory once access is granted |
Related
- [1] — Client overview
- [2] — Google Ads strategy shift discussed in the same call
- [3] — Amazon ads performance context