Packaging materials forecasting

Key takeaway: Treat packaging like a forecasted SKU so you stop running short of mailers and outer boxes.

Found under Inventory → Packaging. Forecast cartons, mailers, inserts, and other packaging materials from your finished-goods demand.

How packaging forecasts are built

For each packaging material you add (a mailer, a carton, an insert, an outer box), you tell Forthcast which finished SKUs use it and how many units of that material each finished unit consumes. Forthcast then takes the demand forecast for those finished SKUs and rolls it up into a projected quantity for the packaging material itself.

Setting up a packaging material

On the Packaging tab, click Add Material. Give it a name, a current on-hand quantity, a supplier and lead time, and the SKUs it is used on with the units consumed per finished unit (a mailer is usually 1; an insert that is shared across products may be 1 per order; tissue paper might be a fraction).

Once linked, the packaging material gets its own row with projected demand, days of cover, and a reorder recommendation — calculated the same way as a regular SKU but driven by the rolled-up demand of the finished products it ships in.

Why this matters

Running out of mailers or branded boxes stops you shipping just as effectively as running out of product. Treating packaging as a forecasted item — instead of guessing from past purchase invoices — means your packaging reorders track real customer demand and you stop overbuying or running short.

Frequently asked questions

What is Packaging materials forecasting in Forthcast?

Treat packaging like a forecasted SKU so you stop running short of mailers and outer boxes.