The Inventory Forecasting Report helps ConnectStock users see what to reorder from vendors, and when.
Open it from Reports, then Inventory, then Inventory Forecasting Report.
The report updates once a day, not in real time. The top right shows when it last ran. If you change something that affects it, like velocity, bills or purchase orders, click Recalculate. This can take a few minutes.
The settings behind it
Each item has its own purchasing settings:
Lead Time: days from placing a purchase order to when it arrives.
Inventory Buffer: how many days of stock you want to keep on hand.
Reorder Frequency: how many days of stock each order should cover.
Velocity settings: which past sales periods are used to guess future sales, and how much weight each gets. For example: 40% from the last 7 days, 30% from the last 90 days and 30% from the last 180 days.
Override Velocity: set a fixed daily velocity by hand. Good for new items with no sales yet.
Minimum Order Qty (MOQ): when you make a purchase order from the report, the quantity goes up to the MOQ if it's lower.
Where to change them
On the report, click an item's velocity number.
On ConnectStock, then Items: open the item and go to the Purchasing tab.
For many items: on Items, click Export, then Purchasing Settings. Change the file in Excel. Then click Import, choose Update Existing Items, then Purchasing Settings, upload the file and click Import.
Defaults for new items
New inventory files start with Lead Time 30 days, Reorder Frequency 30 days and Inventory Buffer 30 days. New items get these defaults.
To change the defaults:
Go to Stores & Files, then Inventory Files, and click your inventory file.
Click Edit, then Forecasting Report.
Next to Default Restock Item Settings, click Set Default Settings, enter your values and click Save.
Changing the defaults doesn't change items you already have. To update them all, use Export and Import on Items.
How the report works it out
It uses 4 inputs: sales velocity, Lead Time, Inventory Buffer and Reorder Frequency.
Reorder Date: the report plays your stock forward 1 day at a time at your sales velocity. It adds open purchase orders on their ETA. It finds the first day your stock falls to your Inventory Buffer, then goes back by your Lead Time. That day is your Reorder Date. If the best date to order has already passed, the report shows today.
Reorder Qty: enough to give you your Inventory Buffer plus 1 full Reorder Frequency on the day the order arrives. It subtracts the stock you'll still have that day, since you don't need to buy it again.
Worked example
An item sells 10 units a day. Lead Time is 5 days, Inventory Buffer is 20 days, and Reorder Frequency is 30 days. You have 305 units.
In units, a 20 day buffer is 200 units, and a 30 day frequency is 300 units.
When to order: you reach 200 units after selling 105 units, which is 10.5 days. The report rounds down to day 10. Order 5 days before that, so the Reorder Date is day 5.
How much to order: the order lands on day 10. That day you still have 205 units (305 minus 100 sold). You want 200 + 300 = 500 units. So you order 500 minus 205 = 295 units.
Why not 300? 300 is 30 days of sales, but it's 5 units too many. You hit 200 units halfway through day 10, but an order can only land on a whole day, so it arrives half a day early with 5 spare units. The report subtracts them. The gap is never more than 1 day of sales, and it doesn't grow from order to order.
The report rounds sales up to whole units, so Reorder Qty is usually a whole number.
Open purchase orders and their ETA
By default, the report uses each open purchase order's ETA. If you'll run low before a purchase order arrives, it tells you to order more.
To count all open purchase orders as if they arrive today:
Go to Stores & Files, then Inventory Files, and click your inventory file.
Click Edit, then Forecasting Report.
Turn on Ignore ETA for Reorder Qty and click Save.
For example, with 10,000 units arriving in 2 months, this stops the report from asking you to reorder before then.
Customize the report
Click Customize to filter the report:
Stock: All Items, In Stock or Out Of Stock.
Reorder Days: Less Than a number of days.
Days Of Stock Left: Less Than a number of days.
Exclude items with 0 reorder quantity. This box is ticked by default.
Click Done, then Run Report.
By default there's no Reorder Days limit. Clicking Clear sets it to 120 days and ticks the 0 reorder quantity box again.
Reorder dates within 7 days show in red. The Days of Stock Left number turns red by the same Reorder Date rule.
The columns
Reorder Qty: how many units to order.
Reorder Date: when to order.
Sales Velocity: average daily sales. Click it to change the item's settings.
Total: Available + In Transit.
Available: in stock and ready to sell.
In Transit: stock in an In Transit warehouse, like stock on its way to FBA.
Reserved: units held for orders that haven't shipped.
Incoming: units on open purchase orders. Click it to see them.
Days of Stock Left: based on Available plus In Transit stock and sales velocity. It doesn't count incoming purchase orders.
Good to know
This isn't an FBA restock report. It's for reordering from your vendors.
Advanced settings
Leave a warehouse out
You can leave a warehouse's stock out of the report. For example, leave out an FBA Unsellable warehouse, since you can't sell that stock.
Go to ConnectStock, then Lists, then Warehouses. Open the warehouse, click Edit, go to the Warehouse Settings tab, set Exclude from Restock to Yes, and click Save.
Warehouses that don't share stock
By default, all warehouses share stock. Some warehouses, like safety stock or separate regional sites, shouldn't be counted for the others.
If a warehouse doesn't share, its stock isn't used to cover other warehouses. For example, if Warehouse 1 doesn't share and Warehouse 2 runs low, the report tells you to reorder for Warehouse 2, even if Warehouse 1 has plenty.
To set it, open the warehouse in Lists, then Warehouses, click Edit, go to the Warehouse Settings tab, set Shares Inventory to No, and click Save.
Every In Transit warehouse needs a Transit Destination Warehouse, so the report knows where incoming stock is going. This matters most when you use regions. Set it the same way, on the In Transit warehouse's Warehouse Settings tab.
Regions
Regions group warehouses, so each group gets its own forecast. For example, keep US and Canada apart, or Europe apart from the rest.
Go to Stores & Files, then Inventory Files, and click your inventory file.
Click Edit, then Forecasting Report, turn on Region Tracking and click Save.
Go to ConnectStock, then Lists, then Regions, and click Add region for each region.
All warehouses start in a default region. Open each warehouse in Lists, then Warehouses, click Edit, go to Warehouse Settings, pick its Assigned Region and click Save.
Then the report can group by region, and reorders are worked out per region.
Example: Warehouse A is in the US, Warehouse B in Canada and Warehouse C in Germany. A and B are in North America, C is in Europe, and A doesn't share stock. If B runs low, the report tells you to reorder, even if A has extra. C is worked out on its own.
To make a purchase order from the report, see How to Create a Purchase Order from the Inventory Forecasting Report.
Frequently asked questions
Why don't I see an item?
By default, items with 0 reorder quantity are hidden. Untick that box in Customize to see them. Also check your other Customize filters.
My numbers look old.
The report runs once a day. Click Recalculate.
Why is Reorder Qty lower than my Reorder Frequency in units?
It subtracts the stock you'll still have when the order lands. See the worked example.