--- title: Amazon, Ecommerce & Inventory Operations — 2026-01-23 type: article created: '2026-04-05' updated: '2026-04-05' source_docs: - raw/2026-01-23-doudlah-farms-marketing-amazon-ecommerce-inventory-call-116732945.md tags: - doudlah-farms - amazon - ecommerce - inventory - operations - b2b - quickbooks - fba - supply-chain - scaling layer: 2 client_source: Doudlah Farms industry_context: food-beverage transferable: false --- # Amazon, Ecommerce & Inventory Operations — 2026-01-23 ## Overview Operations alignment call with the Doudlah Farms team (Lucy, Mark, Jason) and Asymmetric (Karly, Mark Hope, Gilbert, Avokerie). The central theme: sales growth has outpaced operational capacity, and the business needs a new operational model before it runs into serious stockout and fulfillment problems. **Meeting recording:** https://fathom.video/calls/541887976 **Attendees:** - Gilbert Barrongo (Asymmetric) - Avokerie Onorimuo (Asymmetric) - Karly Oykhman (Asymmetric) - Lucy Doudlah (Doudlah Farms) - Mark Doudlah (Doudlah Farms) - Jason Doudlah (Doudlah Farms) --- ## Key Decisions | Decision | Detail | |---|---| | Weekly FBA shipment cadence | Ship 22–24 pallets weekly rather than large infrequent loads; Karly to send Jason a weekly shipment plan | | Edgerton warehouse first | Explore renting ~2,000 sq ft at the nearby Edgerton storage facility for bagging/staging before looking at Milton or other options | | QuickBooks plugin over custom build | Use $100/yr plugin to accelerate B2B launch; defer $300 custom build until operations stabilize | | B2B walkthrough next Friday | Full team review of B2B site with test logins; Karly to have QuickBooks plugin installed beforehand | | Hire a dedicated administrator | Explore hiring someone to handle order entry, inventory management, and shipping coordination to free up Lucy and Karly | --- ## Sales & Performance Snapshot - **January revenue (first 22 days):** $98,000 → projected **~$145k–$150k** for the full month - **December revenue:** $112k (depressed due to inventory/AWD issues) - **Daily net profit:** ~$2,500 (~$912k annualized) - **Organic units sold:** ~100/day (up from ~60) - **Growth rate:** 50–100% month-over-month trend - **Amazon ranking impact of stockouts:** position drops from ~#2 to ~#9; takes weeks to recover --- ## The Operational Bottleneck Sales growth has structurally outpaced the current garage-based operation. Key constraints identified: - **Bagging capacity:** Current setup (Jason, part-time, ~25×25 ft garage) cannot sustain 1,000+ units/month across five top SKUs - **Bag lead time:** EPAC requires 4 weeks; no forecast has been provided to them to allow pre-positioning - **Storage:** No room for multi-truckload buffer stock - **People:** No dedicated person for order entry, inventory tracking, or shipment coordination > *"We've gotten to a place where we're in a different world... we need to find another place to pack, find another place to store, hire a person or two — we can't do what we've done in the past."* — Mark Hope ### Monthly Production Targets (Current Demand) | Product | Units/Month | |---|---| | Yellow popcorn (3 lb) | 1,000 | | White popcorn (3 lb) | 1,000 | | Old World popcorn (×2 SKUs) | 1,000 each | | Yellow cornmeal (5 lb) | 1,000 | | Black beans (5 lb) | 500 | | Blue Haven corn | 400 (immediate need) | --- ## Inventory Status (as of call) | Product | Status | |---|---| | Yellow popcorn | **Critically low** — 2,200 lbs / ~1 pallet. New load scheduled for delivery Monday | | White popcorn | 3 pallets on hand + 400 × 25 lb bags being palletized | | Yellow cornmeal | 5 pallets on hand | | Black beans | 211,000 lbs on hand | | Buckwheat | Raw product on hand; needs to go to miller (half semi-load of cornmeal going same trip) | | Rye flour | Sourced from miller; needs to be ordered | | Blue Haven corn | ~120 units on hand; need 400 — Jason has the corn, needs milling | ### Bag Inventory (EPAC) - **Lead time:** 4 weeks - **Urgent orders needed:** 5 lb yellow cornmeal, 3 lb white popcorn, 3 lb yellow popcorn, 5 lb black beans - **Action:** Lucy to place expedited orders immediately; provide EPAC a sales forecast to reduce future lead times --- ## Warehouse / Operational Hub Planning Current garage is a confirmed bottleneck. Two options discussed: 1. **Edgerton storage facility** *(preferred)* — ~10 miles away, existing product stored there, low cost (~$20/month mentioned). Mark Doudlah to negotiate ~2,000 sq ft for a dedicated bagging line + staging area. 2. **Milton warehouse** — 2,500–70,000 sq ft available with loading docks; further away but viable fallback. Longer-term: a new farm building is already on the ground and could be operational by April. --- ## Shared Inventory Tracking System Mark Hope will build a shared system to track product across all locations and states: - **Locations:** Edgerton, farm, Jason's house, other - **Product states:** raw (uncleaned) → cleaned/unmilled → bagged - **Inputs:** Jason to share current bag inventory; Mark Doudlah to import into system --- ## B2B Site ### Status Site is built; test logins exist. Full team walkthrough scheduled for next Friday. ### Issues Raised - **Epic (5 kitchens):** Each kitchen requires its own invoice/PO number for their internal accounting. They place one combined order but need it deconstructed into 4–5 separate invoices. Currently handled manually by Lucy. - **Outpost (Brian):** Sent feedback screenshots; Karly to review. - **Vitruvian:** Feedback already incorporated — company name now required at checkout (flows to ShipStation), shipping info autofills from profile, purchase order field added. ### Options for Epic's Multi-Invoice Requirement 1. Keep doing it manually (worst case) 2. Asymmetric enters orders on their behalf 3. Custom development to support multi-location ordering per client No final decision on Epic's workflow; Lucy will test the site herself using a mock scenario before the group walkthrough. ### QuickBooks Integration - **Decision:** Install $100/yr plugin before next Friday's walkthrough - **Benefit:** Automates invoice tracking; enables payment reminder emails to B2B clients - **Deferred:** $300 custom build (flat fee) — more flexible but not worth the delay right now --- ## Action Items - [ ] **Karly** — Create prioritized weekly inventory order list (week 1–4) for Jason - [ ] **Karly** — Send weekly Amazon FBA shipment plan to Jason; schedule weekly 22–24 pallet shipments - [ ] **Karly** — Resend B2B test login to Lucy, Mark Doudlah, and Jason before next Friday - [ ] **Karly** — Install $100/yr QuickBooks plugin on B2B site before Friday walkthrough - [ ] **Karly** — Order rye flour from miller - [ ] **Karly** — Post Pop Pop Program "Coming Soon" social; add "Coming Soon" product to site - [ ] **Lucy** — Place expedited bag orders with EPAC for: 5 lb yellow cornmeal, 3 lb white popcorn, 3 lb yellow popcorn, 5 lb black beans - [ ] **Lucy** — Provide EPAC with a sales forecast to reduce future lead times - [ ] **Lucy** — Email Brian (Outpost) B2B feedback screenshots to Karly - [ ] **Mark Doudlah** — Inquire with Edgerton storage facility about renting ~2,000 sq ft for bagging/staging; schedule site visit - [ ] **Mark Doudlah** — Send semi-load of buckwheat to miller; mill required quantity - [ ] **Mark Doudlah** — Mill Blue Haven corn to produce 400 units - [ ] **Mark Doudlah** — Get current bag inventory from Jason; share with Mark Hope for import into shared tracker - [ ] **Mark Hope** — Build shared inventory tracking system (raw / cleaned / bagged × location) - [ ] **All** — B2B site walkthrough meeting next Friday --- ## Related - [[clients/current/doudlah-farms/_index]]