“We needed a tool that worked with us, not against us. So we built it ourselves.”
Inventory isn’t just another operational detail on Amazon, it’s the backbone of profitability, rankings, and long-term success. You can have the best product in the world, but if you’re out of stock, you’re out of the game. Missed sales, lost Buy Box share, decreased ad performance, and negative customer experience all stem from poor inventory planning. That’s why we treat inventory management as a strategic pillar, not a backend task.
At AmpliSell, we don’t just follow the rules of Amazon inventory, we write our own playbook. And that became especially clear when we decided to go beyond Amazon’s FBA Restock Tool.
We used to rely solely on Amazon’s built-in FBA Restock Tool. It’s free, integrated into Seller Central, and fairly easy to use. In theory, it should simplify the restocking process by forecasting demand and offering recommendations on how much to send, and when. But theory doesn’t always match reality.
Over time, our Inventory Specialist started noticing inconsistencies. Amazon would recommend replenishing, say, 55 units. We’d send 54, only to be told to remove the SKU from the shipment because the “days of supply were too high.” That kind of internal contradiction made planning frustrating and inefficient.
Worse, the forecasting lacked accuracy. Amazon would tell us to stock up for 60 days of coverage, but just two weeks later, we’d be scrambling to replenish again. The result? Constant, small replenishments and a reactive inventory cycle.
The biggest problem our expert faced was that it wasn’t clear what inputs Amazon was using to forecast demand and suggest restocks. All we knew was that their output couldn’t be trusted completely. And that’s where our specialist stepped in.
Our Inventory Specialist wanted accuracy and control. So, he built a custom Forecasting & Restocking Sheet—a method that factors in all the variables he considers important, some of which are: seasonality, marketing efforts and lead times—apart from sales history.
Our process starts with a demand forecast for a specific period (say, 60 days). We calculate how many units a client is likely to sell during that window. Then we look at the current inventory: what’s available and what’s inbound. That gives us a projected stock position at the end of the period.
From there, we determine how many days of inventory that number represents. If it’s below the client’s target DOI (Days of Inventory), we calculate exactly how many units need to be sent to hit that goal.
The end result: no guesswork, no surprises. Just clarity.
We rely on detailed sales history to understand how a product has performed over time—month by month, year over year. This helps us identify trends, avoid overreacting to short-term spikes or dips, and forecast demand with greater accuracy. Whether it’s tracking recent velocity or comparing last year’s performance for seasonal context, sales history is the foundation for smart, data-driven planning.
We analyze past years of data for clients who’ve sold for over 12 months and have enough sales history for us to work with. If a product boomed last summer but slowed in winter, we take that into account. We don’t just look at recent sales—we layer them with historical patterns to project realistic future demand.
We map out marketing efforts and link them directly to sales velocity. If a client ran a Memorial Day sale last year, we can compare its impact on inventory and prepare smarter this time around. Ads, discounts, product launches—all of these matter, and we factor them in.
Every client has a different production and fulfillment timeline. Some products take 30 days to manufacture, others need 10 days just for labeling and prepping. Our method accounts for all of it: production, packaging, warehouse prep, carrier pick-up, and even Amazon’s inbound receiving times.
Because our system takes more variables into account, the suggestions are usually much more accurate than Amazon’s.
We haven’t experienced the types of discrepancies we’ve faced with Amazon’s tool. This matters a lot, especially for clients who need to plan large replenishments. When production timelines are tight or capacity is limited, clients need to know ahead of time how much inventory to have ready. Our method gives them that visibility, avoiding costly last-minute scrambles or unexpected stockouts.
The FBA Inventory Report deletes SKUs that go out of stock. That means valuable historical data disappears unless you’ve saved it elsewhere. With our sheet, that data is preserved—so when it’s time to restock, nothing gets lost. You always have a full, consistent record of sales and inventory performance in one centralized place.
You can't grow a brand on Amazon with unreliable inventory data. You’ll overstock, understock, or miss key moments altogether. Our Forecasting & Restocking Sheet is the solution we needed—and the one we now offer to every client.
Want to upgrade your inventory operations with data that makes sense? Reach out today! Our inventory specialist is ready to help you unlock smarter, more profitable inventory planning.
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