--- title: Weekly Call w/ Gilbert — Inventory & Google Ads Review (2026-02-04) type: article created: '2026-02-04' updated: '2026-04-05' source_docs: - raw/2026-02-04-weekly-call-w-gilbert-119717144.md tags: - meeting - inventory - amazon - google-ads - doodle-of-farms - adavacare - reynolds-transfer - gilbert - operations - advertising layer: 2 client_source: Doudlah Farms industry_context: food-beverage transferable: false --- # Weekly Call w/ Gilbert — Inventory & Google Ads Review (2026-02-04) **Date:** 2026-02-04 **Attendees:** Gilbert Barrongo, Mark Hope **Clients discussed:** [[wiki/clients/current/doudlah-farms/index]], [[wiki/clients/current/adavacare/index]], [[wiki/clients/current/reynolds-transfer/index]] ## Overview Weekly operations and advertising review covering three areas: (1) improvements to Doodle of Farms' inventory tracking spreadsheet, (2) Google Ads performance analysis for Adavacare and Reynolds Transfer & Storage, and (3) Amazon keyword and sales trends for Doodle of Farms. Mark also previewed a longer-term plan to build an API-connected inventory management app. --- ## Key Decisions - **Include `shipped/receiving` in Total Inventory.** The current sheet excludes inventory that has been shipped from the warehouse but not yet acknowledged by Amazon. This creates a blind spot that can trigger unnecessary reorders. All five inventory locations should be summed: at FBA, inbound to FBA, at AWD, inbound to AWD, and shipped/receiving. - **Set a 2–4 month inventory target.** Reorder when stock approaches 2 months of supply; order enough to reach 4 months. Never exceed 4 months (carrying cost risk), never drop below 2 months (stock-out risk). - **Automate warehouse order prep for Carly.** Carly (warehouse manager) currently receives unit counts and must manually convert to boxes, pallets, and weights. A new sheet will do this math automatically, reducing error risk. - **Adavacare strategy: scale the surviving campaigns.** After pausing poor-performing location campaigns, conversion rates improved from ~2% to 5–7%. The play is to scale the high-converting campaigns rather than mourn lost impressions. --- ## Action Items - [ ] **Gilbert** — Update inventory sheet: add `shipped/receiving` column to Total Inventory calculation; recompute reorder thresholds accordingly. - [ ] **Gilbert** — Call Carly to confirm units/box, boxes/pallet, and weight specs; build a box/pallet calculator sheet that outputs ready-to-ship data. - [ ] **Gilbert** — Email Carly re: cornmeal gluten-free claim from 2-star review; confirm packaging/labeling policy (note: shared factory with wheat may preclude a gluten-free label). - [ ] **Gilbert** — Investigate Reynolds Transfer & Storage Google Ads performance drop since September; reconcile conflicting metrics (conversion rate up, but conversions and impressions both down); send findings to Sebastian. - [ ] **Gilbert** — Investigate Adavacare CPC increase via Auction Insights and competitor analysis; confirm competition as root cause. - [ ] **Mark** — Send Adavacare MCP/SpyFu findings to Sebastian; ask him to discuss with Gilbert. --- ## Inventory Management — Doodle of Farms ### Problem: Undercounted Total Inventory The existing spreadsheet sums FBA on-hand + inbound to FBA + AWD + inbound to AWD, but omits the `shipped/receiving` column — units that have left the warehouse but haven't yet been registered by Amazon. This gap can make stock appear lower than it is, prompting unnecessary reorders. > "The problem is that we keep on thinking, oh, we're almost out, but oh no, but there's actually some in a truck, but we're not counting it." — Mark **Fix:** Add `shipped/receiving` to the Total Inventory formula. The five canonical inventory locations are: 1. At FBA 2. Inbound to FBA (Amazon-acknowledged) 3. At AWD 4. Inbound to AWD (Amazon-acknowledged) 5. Shipped/receiving (warehouse-dispatched, not yet in Amazon system) ### Inventory Target: 2–4 Month Band | Threshold | Action | |-----------|--------| | Approaching 2 months | Trigger reorder | | Reorder quantity | Enough to reach 4 months | | Hard ceiling | 4 months (carrying cost) | | Hard floor | 2 months (stock-out risk) | Top velocity SKUs where this matters most: black beans, popcorn, yellow cornmeal, Old World (four top sellers). ### Warehouse Order Automation Carly currently receives unit counts and must manually convert to boxes and pallets — a manual step that introduces error risk. The proposed solution is a dedicated sheet that: - Pulls the "quantity to ship" figure from the main inventory sheet - References product data (units/box, boxes/pallet, box weight) - Outputs: number of boxes, number of pallets (full + partial), total weight This gives Carly everything she needs to execute a shipment order without doing any math herself. ### Long-Term Vision Mark is planning an internal app with direct Amazon API access to manage inventory across all channels: Amazon FBA/AWD, physical warehouse, retail orders, and bulk orders. The spreadsheet approach continues in the interim. --- ## Google Ads Performance ### Adavacare **Account context:** Assisted living facilities in Milwaukee; ~10 facilities, ~3 open beds each, ~30 beds to fill. Average resident revenue ~$5,000/month with ~22-month average stay. | Metric | Before (Jan 2025) | Recent | |--------|-------------------|--------| | CPC | ~$2.63 | ~$6.00 | | Impressions | ~24,000 | ~6,000 | | Clicks | ~1,100 | ~400 | | Conversion rate | ~2% | 5–7% | | Conversions | ~13–24/month | ~23–24/month | | Cost per conversion | Flat | Flat | **Root causes identified:** 1. **Competition:** Industry-wide CPC for assisted living / elder care rose ~32% YoY (LocalIQ Healthcare Benchmarks). Milwaukee may be running even hotter. Auction Insights confirm a crowded landscape — Adavacare holds ~21% impression share; aggregators like A Place for Mom, Caring.com, and SeniorLivingNearMe.com dominate. 2. **Budget tightening:** Two poor-performing location campaigns were paused, which reduced impressions and clicks but improved overall conversion rate. **Strategic read:** The surviving campaigns are performing well (5–7% CVR). The right move is to scale them, not to restore the paused campaigns. The CPC increase is largely an external market condition, not an optimization failure. **Next step:** Gilbert to pull Auction Insights data and competitor analysis; Mark to send MCP/SpyFu findings to Sebastian (account manager) and ask him to loop in Gilbert. ### Reynolds Transfer & Storage **Problem:** Performance dropped sharply starting September 2025 — impressions, clicks, and total conversions all fell significantly. Cost per conversion jumped from ~$32 to over $100. **Conflicting signal:** Conversion *rate* appears up, but total conversions are down and impressions are down. Mark flagged that these three metrics moving in that direction simultaneously don't add up and warrant closer inspection. **No obvious cause found:** Gilbert reviewed the change history and found no significant account changes in September. No campaigns were paused or budgets cut at that time (unlike Adavacare). **Next step:** Gilbert to dig into the account, reconcile the metric discrepancies, and send findings to Sebastian. --- ## Amazon Performance — Doodle of Farms ### Overall Sales Snapshot (Last 30 Days) - **Trend:** Recovering — impressions and organic units both rising. - **ROAS:** 3.42 (up from ~3.35 the prior week). Organic sales growth is the primary driver, diluting ad spend cost across more total revenue. - **Returns:** Record low of 153 units despite rising sales volume. Top return SKUs: cornmeal and popcorn (mostly accidental orders, not product dissatisfaction). ### Customer Feedback Flag A 2-star review on cornmeal noted the packaging does not indicate the product is gluten-free. Mark noted this may be intentional — the cornmeal is ground in a shared facility with wheat flour, which could preclude a gluten-free claim. Gilbert to share the review with Carly to assess labeling options. ### Keyword Performance (Weekly Search Query Report) | Keyword | Direction | Notes | |---------|-----------|-------| | Popcorn (brand purchase trend) | ↑ ~3x | Doodle of Farms #1 sponsored, #5 organic for "organic popcorn" | | Cornmeal Organic (brand purchase trend) | ↓ ~50% | Caused by inventory stock-out; bids increased to recover | | Amish popcorn (competitor) | Flat/declining | Sales flat; organic ranking dropped significantly; not appearing on "organic popcorn" search results page | **Competitive note:** Amish popcorn brand appears to have lost its organic search placement — possibly related to prior concerns about unverified organic claims. Their 90-day sales trend is flat. --- ## Related - [[wiki/clients/current/doudlah-farms/index]] - [[wiki/clients/current/adavacare/index]] - [[wiki/clients/current/reynolds-transfer/index]] - [[wiki/knowledge/google-ads/cpc-inflation-assisted-living]] - [[wiki/knowledge/amazon/inventory-management-fba-awd]]