Featuring Craig Barnell (Director of Customer Insights, Inventory Optimizer; COO, Fishers Finery) and Ryan Carbone (Director of Support & Product Implementation, Inventory Optimizer) 

For sellers on Amazon, advertising is often viewed as a growth lever. More visibility usually means more traffic, more conversions, and more sales. But what happens when those ads continue driving demand toward products that are about to run out of stock? 

In the latest episode of If You Don't Have It, You Can't Sell It, Ryan Carbone and Craig Barnell tackle a challenge Amazon itself has been highlighting to sellers: advertising products that are heading toward stockouts. 

For brands managing hundreds or even thousands of SKUs, the financial and ranking impact can be substantial. Fishers Finery experienced this firsthand, which ultimately led to a new automation strategy built directly into Inventory Optimizer. 

The Challenge

Craig first became aware of how serious this issue was after attending a seller event hosted by Quartile, where Amazon Advertising discussed the importance of aligning ad spend with inventory availability. 

The message was simple: 

If a product is likely to run out before replenishment arrives, continuing to advertise it may actually hurt your business. 

Why? 

When an ASIN goes out of stock, sales momentum disappears.
If key child ASINs within a parent listing stay out of stock too long, overall listing performance can drop. 

Sellers may waste advertising dollars driving demand to products they can no longer fulfill.

"We've seen listings go from page one to page four because important child ASINs went out of stock." — Barnell 

For a brand like Fishers Finery, that kind of ranking loss directly impacts revenue, organic visibility, and long-term profitability. 

The Opportunity

When Craig returned from the event, he sat down with Ryan and the Inventory Optimizer development team with one question: 

If we already know when a product is projected to go out of stock, why not automatically adjust advertising spend before it happens? 

Inventory Optimizer already tracks: 

  • Current inventory levels 
  • Open purchase orders 
  • Inbound inventory 
  • Inventory in AWD and FBA 
  • Projected out-of-stock dates 

Rather than simply displaying this data, the team wanted to turn it into action. 

The Strategy

Over the past year, Inventory Optimizer developed a new automation engine designed specifically for Amazon sellers. 

Here's how it works: 

Step 1: Identify Risk 

When Inventory Optimizer projects that a product has 30 days or less of inventory coverage, the system flags it as at risk. 

Step 2: Automatically Reduce Ad Spend 

Once a product hits the threshold, the system can: 

  • Reduce campaign budgets 
  • Slow spend gradually 
  • Pause campaigns entirely if inventory becomes critically low 

This helps preserve inventory for organic demand while reallocating advertising dollars toward products with healthier stock levels. 

"Why spend money on something that's going to go out of stock anyway when you can move that spend to ASINs with stronger inventory coverage?" — Barnell 

Step 3: Automatically Reactivate Campaigns 

One of the biggest improvements during development came when the team realized sellers also needed automation when inventory returns. 

Once new inventory is received into Amazon fulfillment or warehouse systems, campaigns can automatically restart once stock levels return to healthy coverage. 

This eliminates the need for sellers to manually monitor and restart campaigns across hundreds or thousands of products. 

Flexibility for Sellers 

Not every seller wants complete automation, so Inventory Optimizer supports multiple approaches: 

Fully Automated
The system pauses and reactivates campaigns automatically. 

Manual Recommendations
Inventory Optimizer alerts your team when action is recommended. 

Hybrid Mode
Automate certain products while maintaining manual control over others. 

This allows sellers to integrate the system into their existing workflow without losing visibility or control. 

Beta Program Now Open 

Inventory Optimizer is now preparing to open this feature to a limited beta group of Amazon sellers. 

The team is looking for approximately 10 sellers to connect their Seller Central accounts, test the product, and provide real-world feedback. 

"The more input we get from sellers, the better we can make the product serve the marketplace." — Barnell 

Takeaway

Running ads without considering inventory levels can create hidden losses: 

  • Wasted ad spend 
  • Lost sales momentum 
  • Lower listing rankings 
  • Poor allocation of marketing dollars 

By combining inventory forecasting with advertising automation, Inventory Optimizer helps sellers make smarter decisions before stockouts happen. 

Instead of reacting after products go dark, brands can proactively protect rankings, preserve profitability, and keep advertising dollars working where inventory is actually available. 

If you're an Amazon seller interested in joining the beta or learning how Inventory Optimizer can automate stockout prevention, now is the time to connect with the team.