Logistics & Inventory Crisis — Fee Restructure Proposal

Discussed during ^[1].

Overview

Doodla's logistics and inventory management has reached a breaking point. Jason (Doodla's primary operator) is stretched across farming, B2C fulfillment, wholesale, and Amazon — with no additional staff. The result is chronic stockouts, delayed Amazon shipments, and an unsustainable administrative burden on Asymmetric's team. The current 4% fee does not compensate for the operational overhead being absorbed.

A "come-to-Jesus" call with Doodla leadership is being scheduled for early the week of Feb 3 to propose a restructured engagement model.

The Problem

Operational Chaos

• Jason is the sole logistics operator, responsible for: farming, B2C shipments, wholesale deliveries, Amazon fulfillment, and product cleaning/processing.
• He is at capacity. Amazon orders are being delayed by weeks (earliest Feb 12 shipment at time of call).
• Karly spent over an hour manually splitting a single order into 10 shipments and organizing labels/folders for Jason.

Stockouts Are Killing Revenue

• Doodla ran out of inventory in late November (post-Thanksgiving), causing a significant revenue dip that lasted through December.
• The same pattern is likely to repeat without structural change.
• Jan 2026 revenue is projected at ~$138k, generating ~$9,500 in fees for Asymmetric at the current 4% rate.
• That fee is insufficient given the actual time and administrative load being absorbed.

Root Cause

• No one at Doodla is in charge of inventory planning or logistics coordination.
• Product is being packed and stored at the farm (garage-scale), which cannot support the current or projected order volume.
• Bags, cleaned product, and packaging materials are frequently unavailable when needed.

Proposed Solution

Fee Increase: 4% → ~10%

• Current: 4% of revenue (~$9,500/mo at $138k revenue)
• Proposed: ~10% of revenue, plus the existing marketing retainer (~$4k/mo)
• Rationale: Asymmetric would take on full logistics management, eliminating the operational bottleneck

New Scope: Asymmetric Manages Inventory & Packing

• Hire 2 packers at ~$15/hr × 40 hrs/wk × 4 wks = ~$5,000/mo in labor (before taxes/overhead)
• Secure warehouse space in Edgerton (negotiate ~1,000 sq ft, pallet racking)
• Product flows: farm → warehouse (never back to farm) → packed → shipped
• Asymmetric controls the packing schedule, label prep, and Amazon shipment coordination

Why This Makes Sense

• Stockouts directly reduce Asymmetric's revenue (percentage-based model)
• The logistics chaos is a reputational and operational risk for both parties
• Doodla has the product; the bottleneck is purely logistical
• Month-over-month revenue growth has been strong when inventory is available — the upside is real

Alternative (Lighter) Option

• If full logistics takeover is not agreed to, minimum ask is fee increase to 6–8% in exchange for more structured inventory oversight (without hiring/warehouse)

Current Revenue Context

Revenue growth trend is strong month-over-month when inventory is available. Organic unit sales are healthy, keeping ad costs controlled. The constraint is entirely operational.

Related Opportunity

The ^[2] — a potential $50k–$100k wholesale order (40k–80k lbs of black beans) — makes resolving the logistics situation even more urgent. That order cannot be fulfilled reliably under the current model.

Action Items

• [ ] Karly — Schedule "come-to-Jesus" call with Doodla (Lucy + Jason) for early week of Feb 3; include Mark
• [ ] Karly — Schedule internal prep call with Mark and Lucy before the Doodla call to align on the proposal
• [ ] Mark — Model out the fee restructure math (4% vs. 10%, labor costs, warehouse costs, break-even revenue threshold)
• [ ] Mark — Explore warehouse space availability in Edgerton

Key Quotes

"We need to have another come-to-Jesus conversation… you know, first of all, we're doing much more work than we anticipated. And even the little 4% we're getting, it doesn't amount to anything when you compare it to the amount of time we're spending." — Mark

"I see the train wreck about to happen, and I feel like there's nothing I can do." — Karly

"They've got the beans and they've got the popcorn. They've got it. The problem is the logistics." — Mark