Scheduled Replenishment: Fixed-Cycle Reordering for Shopify Merchants

TL;DR: Scheduled replenishment uses fixed-cycle reordering to automatically trigger purchase orders at regular intervals based on predicted demand and current stock levels, helping Shopify merchants maintain optimal inventory without manual monitoring. Forthcast automates this process by forecasting demand and generating replenishment plans on fixed cycles, enabling Shopify operators to maintain stock levels efficiently without constant manual oversight.

Last Updated: April 2026

For most Shopify merchants, reordering is a daily question: is this SKU low enough that I should place a PO today? Forthcast's original On Demand mode answers exactly that. But a sizeable chunk of merchants don't actually order that way. They order on a fixed cadence — a quarterly container, a monthly review with a domestic supplier, a weekly call with a co-packer — and the question they need answered is the opposite: the next order date is two weeks away, what do I need to put on it?

That's why Forthcast now ships a second replenishment model: Scheduled (Fixed Cycle) Replenishment. It lives alongside On Demand, you can switch between them whenever you like, and it changes how the Replenishment table sizes every PO. Below: when each mode fits, how to switch, what the new Cycle Reorder Pt column actually means, and a worked example for a quarterly container shop.

Two replenishment models, one decision

Forthcast now supports two answers to the question "when do I order?":

• On Demand (the original mode) — every SKU is checked continuously. The moment available stock drops below the Reorder Point, the row turns into Order Now. Use it when you can place a PO any day of the week.
• Scheduled (Fixed Cycle) — you commit to ordering on a regular cadence per supplier. The Reorder Pt column is replaced by a Cycle Reorder Pt that's sized to protect the entire upcoming cycle. Use it when containers, MOQs, paid-on-order terms, or supplier review meetings dictate the rhythm.

Both modes share the same forecasting engine, the same lead-time settings, and the same safety-stock buffer. The difference is only in how the recommendation is sized and when it fires. You can mix and match too — a shop can run most suppliers On Demand and put a single overseas supplier on a 13-week cycle, or vice versa.

When On Demand fits — and when it doesn't

On Demand is the right default if any of these are true: most of your suppliers ship within a couple of weeks; you can comfortably place small POs whenever the system flags one; your SKUs vary in velocity and you want each one reordered on its own schedule; your supplier doesn't have an MOQ that forces you to batch.

It starts to feel wrong when the calendar fights it. If you import from a single overseas supplier and they consolidate everything into one container per quarter, getting an Order Now alert in week 3 is useless — you can't actually place that PO until the next container window. If your domestic supplier has a $5,000 MOQ and you sell $400 of one SKU per week, an alert per SKU is noise. If you've got a fixed Tuesday call with your co-packer and you build the PO together on the call, you don't need a system telling you to order on a Thursday.

Those are exactly the situations Scheduled mode is for.

When Fixed Cycle fits

Pick Scheduled (Fixed Cycle) when any of these match how you actually buy:

• Container shipments on a fixed cadence. Quarterly containers, bi-monthly LCL shipments, or any consolidation pattern where you order once and ship a lot.
• High MOQs that force you to batch. If a supplier needs a $10k order to ship at all, batching demand into fewer, larger POs is the only realistic plan.
• Predictable supplier review cadence. A weekly call with a 3PL co-packer, a monthly buying meeting, or a quarterly category review.
• Paid-on-order suppliers. If cash leaves the bank the moment the PO goes out, locking spend to a known cadence makes cash flow predictable.
• Categories with strict supplier production windows. Print runs, food production batches, anything where the supplier only opens a slot every N weeks.

How to switch on Scheduled mode

The toggle lives under Settings → Replenishment model. Flip it from On Demand to Scheduled (Fixed Cycle) and you'll be asked for two defaults:

• Default order cycle (weeks). 4 = monthly, 8 = bi-monthly, 13 = quarterly, 26 = twice a year. Pick whichever matches the rhythm you actually order on. If you're not sure, start with 4 and refine per supplier.
• Default next order date. The date Forthcast will base the first cycle off. You can leave this blank and set it per supplier instead.

You can leave the rest of Forthcast exactly as it is. Forecasting, safety stock, lead times, supplier setup, packaging, bundles — none of that changes. The only visible difference on the Replenishment table is that the Reorder Pt column is replaced by Cycle Reorder Pt.

Per-supplier overrides — different cadences in the same shop

Most shops don't run all of their suppliers on the same cycle. A US merchant might import quarterly from one overseas supplier on a 13-week cycle, refill from a domestic co-packer every 4 weeks, and place ad-hoc orders with a third local supplier on demand. Forthcast handles all three from one settings page.

On the Suppliers settings page, each supplier row gets its own Order cycle (weeks) and Next order date. The precedence is straightforward:

1. If the supplier has a value set, that value wins.
2. If the supplier is blank, Forthcast uses the shop-wide default.
3. If both are blank, the cycle defaults to 4 weeks and the next order date prompts you to pick one.

You can leave a supplier on On Demand within a Scheduled shop too — useful for the local supplier you can call any time.

Cycle Reorder Pt — what it actually means

This is the column that does the heavy lifting in Scheduled mode. Cycle Reorder Pt is the inventory level you need to be at on the next order date so that you don't run out before the cycle after that. The math is plain English:

Cycle Reorder Pt = cycle weeks of forecasted demand + (optional) lead-time demand + your existing safety buffer

When available stock drops below the Cycle Reorder Pt, the row triggers Order Now with a suggested quantity that brings stock back above the threshold for the upcoming cycle. The safety buffer is exactly the same buffer the On Demand model uses — same service-level setting, same lead-time variability inputs — so switching modes doesn't change your stockout protection.

The "include lead time in cycle horizon" toggle

Cycle Reorder Pt has one optional add-on: lead-time demand. There's a toggle under the Replenishment model panel called Include lead time in cycle horizon. When it's on, Forthcast adds lead-time weeks of demand on top of cycle weeks of demand.

Turn it on when you have long lead times or transit-heavy supply chains — the stock you order today won't arrive until well into the next cycle, so you need to cover both the current cycle and the lead time. Leave it off when lead times are short and predictable enough that the cycle alone covers you. A merchant on a 13-week container cycle with an 8-week lead time will almost always want it on; a merchant on a 4-week cycle with a 1-week local supplier almost always won't.

Manual vs. auto Next Order Date

Every supplier in Scheduled mode has a Next Order Date, and that date carries one of two sources:

• Manual — you set the date by hand. Forthcast never overwrites a manual date. When a PO ships against that supplier, Forthcast asks you to review the date so you can roll it forward yourself. This is the right choice when your supplier dictates the calendar (e.g. "the next container loads on June 5") and you want full control.
• Auto — Forthcast manages the date. After every PO is created or received with that supplier, the next order date advances by exactly one cycle. The advance is anchored to the PO's date — created date when the PO is created, receipt date when it's received — and is clamped to today or later, so a forgotten supplier doesn't end up with a date in the past.

You can flip a supplier between manual and auto at any time. Most shops end up with a mix: auto for steady domestic suppliers where Forthcast can just keep the cadence ticking, manual for overseas suppliers where the container schedule changes month to month.

Worked example: a quarterly container supplier

Let's run through how this looks for a merchant who imports from one overseas supplier on a 13-week container cycle.

The setup:

• Cycle: 13 weeks (quarterly container)
• Lead time: 8 weeks (factory build + shipping)
• "Include lead time in cycle horizon": on
• Today: April 22
• Next order date: May 5

Two weeks before the next order date, the merchant opens the Replenishment table to start building the PO. For every SKU on that supplier, Forthcast computes:

Cycle Reorder Pt = 13 weeks of forecasted demand + 8 weeks of forecasted demand + safety buffer

Anything with available stock below that line shows up as Order Now, with a suggested order quantity that brings stock back to the cycle target. The merchant reviews each row, adjusts for any promotions or price breaks, and sends the PO to the supplier on May 5.

The moment the PO is created, two things happen automatically:

1. The Order Now flag clears for every SKU on the PO — they're now "covered" for the upcoming cycle.
2. If the supplier is on auto, the Next Order Date advances by 13 weeks to August 4. If the supplier is on manual, Forthcast leaves the date alone and prompts the merchant to review it.

Eight weeks later, the container arrives and is received in Forthcast. Stock is replenished and the cycle starts over for the next quarter.

Switching modes mid-month — and other safety nets

You can switch a supplier (or the whole shop) between On Demand and Scheduled at any time. No data is lost; the Reorder Pt and Cycle Reorder Pt columns simply swap places. Your demand history, safety stock settings, supplier lead times, bundle mappings, packaging links and PO history all carry across unchanged. If a supplier slips a date, just edit the Next Order Date — the source flips to manual and Forthcast respects the new date until you change it back.

If your Cycle Reorder Pt looks higher than your old Reorder Pt, that's expected. A Reorder Pt protects you for the lead-time window only; a Cycle Reorder Pt protects you for the entire upcoming cycle. The number is bigger because the job is bigger.

Try Scheduled Replenishment today

Scheduled mode is live for every Forthcast plan and there's nothing to install — just open Settings → Replenishment model, pick a default cycle and a starting date, and you're running. New to Forthcast? Start your free 14-day trial of Forthcast at forthcast.io — no credit card required.