--- title: Inventory & Fulfillment Crisis — Commission Renegotiation type: article created: '2026-01-30' updated: '2026-01-30' source_docs: - raw/2026-01-30-weekly-call-w-118649214.md tags: - doodla - fulfillment - inventory - amazon - commission-negotiation - operations layer: 2 client_source: Doudlah Farms industry_context: food-beverage transferable: false --- # Inventory & Fulfillment Crisis — Commission Renegotiation ## Overview As of late January 2026, Doodla's inventory and fulfillment operation has reached a critical failure point. The chaos is directly suppressing sales revenue — and because Asymmetric's compensation is a 4% commission on sales, stockouts hurt both parties. A "come to Jesus" call has been proposed for early the week of Feb 2 to renegotiate the engagement model. Discussed in: [[meetings/2026-01-30-weekly-sync-mark-karly]] --- ## The Problem ### Jason Is at Capacity Jason (Doodla's primary operations person) is simultaneously handling: - B2C order fulfillment - B2B order fulfillment - Amazon FBA shipments - Physical farming work - Product cleaning and bagging He is stretched beyond capacity. Amazon orders are being delayed by weeks — one order couldn't ship until Feb 12, with the next batch pushed two weeks further. ### Recurring Stockouts Inventory shortages (bags, clean product, cornmeal, black beans) are recurring and directly halt sales. The most damaging example: a stockout immediately after Thanksgiving caused a sharp revenue dip that persisted through November and December. The pattern is likely to repeat. ### Manual Work Burden on Asymmetric Karly's team is absorbing significant uncompensated operational work. A single order recently broke into **10 separate shipments**, requiring over an hour of manual sorting, labeling, and folder organization just to hand off to Jason. This is not sustainable at a 4% commission rate. ### No Operational Discipline There is no clear owner of inventory management at Doodla. Decisions aren't made, reorder quantities aren't tracked, and the operation is run out of what amounts to a garage-scale setup that can no longer support the volume. --- ## Financial Impact - Current commission rate: **4%** - Estimated January revenue to Asymmetric: ~**$9,500** (on ~$138k in sales) - Revenue is directly tied to inventory availability — stockouts = lost commissions - The post-Thanksgiving dip is a documented example of this risk materializing --- ## Proposed Solution ### "Come to Jesus" Call Karly to schedule for **Monday or Tuesday, Feb 2–3**. Mark will lead the negotiation. ### New Engagement Model Asymmetric takes over all fulfillment operations, including: - Negotiating warehouse space in Edgerton - Hiring and managing labor (est. 2 workers × $15/hr × 40 hrs/wk = ~$5,000/month in labor alone) - Receiving product from the farm - Packing, labeling, and shipping — product never returns to the farm ### New Commission Rate The current 4% is unsustainable given the expanded scope. The proposed target is **10% commission**, which would cover: - ~$6,000–$7,000/month in incremental operational costs (labor + warehouse) - The existing $4,000/month marketing retainer remains in place At projected sales levels, 10% would generate ~$13,800/month — enough to cover costs and make the expanded scope worthwhile. An alternative framing discussed: Asymmetric sets up a separate entity, buys beans from Doodla at a fixed price (e.g., $2/lb), and keeps the margin between cost and Amazon net proceeds. This was flagged as a more complex option to revisit. --- ## Key Decisions - **Do not wait until the next scheduled Friday call** — the situation needs to be addressed early in the week before it festers further. - **Commission must increase to ~10%** for Asymmetric to absorb warehouse and labor costs. - **Asymmetric manages fulfillment end-to-end** — product flows from farm → Edgerton warehouse → Amazon, bypassing the farm entirely for packing. --- ## Action Items - [ ] **Karly** — Schedule "come to Jesus" call with Doodla owner for Mon–Tue, Feb 2–3 - [ ] **Mark** — Negotiate warehouse space at Edgerton facility once call is confirmed - [ ] **Mark** — Model out full cost structure (labor, warehouse, packaging) to support 10% ask --- ## Related - [[clients/current/doudlah-farms/_index]] - [[meetings/2026-01-30-weekly-sync-mark-karly]]