Forthcast works with ShipBob

Direct answer: Forthcast integrates with ShipBob to read inventory levels across all your fulfillment centres and calculate replenishment needs based on regional sales velocity. This prevents stockouts in specific regions before they affect your customers.

Running out of stock in one region while sitting on excess inventory in another is a problem many merchants face when working with distributed fulfillment. ShipBob gives you the infrastructure to store products closer to customers, but managing per-location inventory adds complexity to your forecasting. Forthcast solves this by treating each fulfillment centre as its own inventory pool with its own demand patterns.

When you connect Forthcast to ShipBob, you get location-aware forecasts that account for how fast inventory moves in each region. Stock sitting in a Texas warehouse doesn't help customers in California, and Forthcast knows it.

How it works

1. Forthcast connects to your ShipBob account and reads current inventory levels at each fulfillment centre where you store products.
2. The app analyzes sales velocity by region, determining how quickly products sell to customers served by each ShipBob location.
3. When inventory at a specific fulfillment centre drops below the threshold needed to meet projected demand, Forthcast flags the replenishment need for that location.
4. You receive forecasts that show exactly how much stock to send to each centre, based on the actual pace of sales in that region rather than generic averages.

Why merchants use Forthcast with ShipBob

• Stop regional stockouts: Your total inventory count might look healthy, but if all your stock is on the wrong coast, customers still can't buy. Forthcast tracks inventory by location so you know when a specific fulfillment centre needs replenishment, even if other locations have plenty of stock.
• Match inventory to regional demand: A product might fly off the shelves in one region and move slowly in another. Forthcast calculates sales velocity for each ShipBob location separately, so you send more inventory where it actually sells and avoid tying up capital in slow-moving regional stock.
• Plan replenishment with actual data: Guessing how to distribute inventory across fulfillment centres wastes time and money. Forthcast gives you specific replenishment numbers for each location based on how products have been selling to customers in that region, turning distribution planning into a data-driven process.
• Keep all locations in sync: Managing multiple fulfillment centres means tracking multiple inventory pools, which gets messy fast. Forthcast monitors all your ShipBob locations automatically and alerts you when any single centre is running low, so nothing falls through the cracks.

Frequently asked questions

How long does initial setup take?

Connecting Forthcast to ShipBob takes about five minutes. You'll authorize the connection through ShipBob's integration interface, and Forthcast will immediately start reading your inventory levels across all fulfillment centres. The app needs a few days of sales data to establish accurate regional velocity patterns, but you can start seeing location-specific inventory reports right away.

How often does Forthcast sync with ShipBob?

Forthcast pulls inventory data from ShipBob multiple times per day to keep your forecasts current. The exact frequency depends on your sales volume, but high-volume merchants get updates every few hours. This means your replenishment calculations reflect recent inventory changes, not stale numbers from days ago.

What happens if the ShipBob connection gets disconnected?

If the integration loses connection, Forthcast will alert you immediately and stop generating new forecasts until the issue is resolved. Your existing forecast data remains accessible, but the app won't create new replenishment recommendations without current inventory numbers. Reconnecting takes just a few clicks through the same authorization process you used during initial setup.

Does this work with all ShipBob account types?

Forthcast works with standard ShipBob accounts that use multiple fulfillment centres. You need to have inventory stored in at least two ShipBob locations to benefit from regional forecasting, since the value comes from calculating different replenishment needs per centre. If you only use one fulfillment location, Forthcast still works but functions as a single-location forecast tool.

What if I move inventory between ShipBob centres myself?

Forthcast reads whatever inventory levels ShipBob reports at each location, regardless of how stock got there. If you manually transfer products between fulfillment centres, those changes appear in your next inventory sync and Forthcast adjusts future forecasts accordingly. The app treats inter-facility transfers the same as any other inventory change, so your regional sales velocity calculations remain accurate even when you rebalance stock yourself.