OVERVIEW	12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
OVERVIEW	NOTE 1 OVERVIEW Business Forward Industries, Inc. (“Forward”, “we”, “our”, or the “Company”), is a fully integrated design, development and manufacturing solution provider for top tier medical and technology customers worldwide. Through its acquisitions of IPS and Kablooe, the Company has expanded its ability to design and develop solutions for our existing multinational client base and expand beyond the diabetic product line into a variety of industries with a full spectrum of hardware and software product design and engineering services. In addition to our existing design and distribution of carry and protective solutions, primarily for handheld electronic devices, the Company is now a one-stop shop for design, development and manufacturing solutions serving a wide range of clients in the industrial, commercial and consumer industries. The Company’s previous principal customer market has been original equipment manufacturers, or “OEMs” (or the contract manufacturing firms of these OEM customers), that either package our products as accessories “in box” together with their branded product offerings or sell them through their retail distribution channels. The Company’s OEM products include carrying cases and other accessories for medical monitoring and diagnostic kits and a variety of other portable electronic and non-electronic products (such as sporting and recreational products, bar code scanners, smartphones, GPS location devices, tablets and firearms). The Company’s OEM customers are located in: (i) the Asia-Pacific region, which we refer to as the “APAC Region”; (ii) Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, which we refer to as the “EMEA Region”; and (iii) the geographic area encompassing North America, Central America and South America, which we refer to as the “Americas”. The Company does not manufacture any of its OEM products and sources substantially all of its OEM products from independent suppliers in China, through Forward Industries Asia-Pacific Corporation, a British Virgin Islands corporation (“Forward China”). See Note 14. As a result of the expansion of the design development capabilities through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, IPS and Kablooe, the Company is now able to introduce proprietary products to the market from concepts brought to it from a number of different sources, both inside and outside the Company. Liquidity In Fiscal 2021, the Company generated net income of $524,000 523,805 and negative cash flow from operations of $528,000 528,311. We believe our existing cash balance and working capital will be sufficient to meet our liquidity needs through at least December 31, 2022. Our largest vendor is Forward China, a related entity, which is able to extend payment terms on outstanding liabilities when necessary (see Note 14). We can provide no assurances that any such extension will be given if requested. Impact of COVID-19 The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus continues to impact our results of operations. While the most significant impact was in Fiscal 2020, the virus continued to impact our results of operations in Fiscal 2021. The business shutdowns resulting from the pandemic disrupted our supply chain and the manufacture or shipment of our products and delayed the rollout of our retail products. Additionally, demand for our design and development services was reduced or delayed as a result of the pandemic as certain customers reduced discretionary spending. The risk of collecting accounts receivable is also enhanced as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19. While revenues for Fiscal 2021 increased as compared to Fiscal 2020, they were lower than anticipated due in part to the impact of COVID-19 and the resulting economic conditions. The impact of lower than anticipated revenue was further complicated by a significant increase in freight costs due to the global shipping container shortage caused in part by the pandemic. Many government restrictions have been relaxed and the economy has continued to open in more jurisdictions. However, the emergence of new and transmittable variants of COVID-19 could lead to a possible resurgence of the virus, particularly in populations with low vaccination rates and has resulted in new restrictions in certain geographies and among certain businesses. The long-term financial impact on our business cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. As a result, the effects of COVID-19 may not be fully reflected in our financial results until future periods. Refer to “Part I, Item 1A — Risk Factors” for a description of the material risks that the Company currently faces in connection with COVID-19. Until the pandemic is fully controlled, we expect business conditions to remain challenging. In response to these challenges, we will continue to focus on those factors that we can control: closely managing and controlling our expenses; aligning our design and development schedules with demand in a proactive manner as there are changes in market conditions to minimize our cash operating costs; pursuing further improvements in the productivity and effectiveness of our development, selling and administrative activities and, where appropriate, taking advantage of opportunities to enhance our business growth and strategy. To help mitigate the impact of these challenging business conditions, we implemented cost-cutting initiatives including reducing executive pay and Board of Directors compensation for the three months ended June 30, 2021. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources” section of Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for further description of these cost-cutting measures.

OVERVIEW

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

NOTE 1 OVERVIEW

Business

Forward Industries, Inc. (“Forward”, “we”, “our”, or the “Company”), is a fully integrated design, development and manufacturing solution provider for top tier medical and technology customers worldwide. Through its acquisitions of IPS and Kablooe, the Company has expanded its ability to design and develop solutions for our existing multinational client base and expand beyond the diabetic product line into a variety of industries with a full spectrum of hardware and software product design and engineering services. In addition to our existing design and distribution of carry and protective solutions, primarily for handheld electronic devices, the Company is now a one-stop shop for design, development and manufacturing solutions serving a wide range of clients in the industrial, commercial and consumer industries. The Company’s previous principal customer market has been original equipment manufacturers, or “OEMs” (or the contract manufacturing firms of these OEM customers), that either package our products as accessories “in box” together with their branded product offerings or sell them through their retail distribution channels. The Company’s OEM products include carrying cases and other accessories for medical monitoring and diagnostic kits and a variety of other portable electronic and non-electronic products (such as sporting and recreational products, bar code scanners, smartphones, GPS location devices, tablets and firearms). The Company’s OEM customers are located in: (i) the Asia-Pacific region, which we refer to as the “APAC Region”; (ii) Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, which we refer to as the “EMEA Region”; and (iii) the geographic area encompassing North America, Central America and South America, which we refer to as the “Americas”. The Company does not manufacture any of its OEM products and sources substantially all of its OEM products from independent suppliers in China, through Forward Industries Asia-Pacific Corporation, a British Virgin Islands corporation (“Forward China”). See Note 14.

As a result of the expansion of the design development capabilities through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, IPS and Kablooe, the Company is now able to introduce proprietary products to the market from concepts brought to it from a number of different sources, both inside and outside the Company.

Liquidity

In Fiscal 2021, the Company generated net income of $524,000 523,805 and negative cash flow from operations of $528,000 528,311. We believe our existing cash balance and working capital will be sufficient to meet our liquidity needs through at least December 31, 2022. Our largest vendor is Forward China, a related entity, which is able to extend payment terms on outstanding liabilities when necessary (see Note 14). We can provide no assurances that any such extension will be given if requested.

Impact of COVID-19

The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus continues to impact our results of operations. While the most significant impact was in Fiscal 2020, the virus continued to impact our results of operations in Fiscal 2021. The business shutdowns resulting from the pandemic disrupted our supply chain and the manufacture or shipment of our products and delayed the rollout of our retail products. Additionally, demand for our design and development services was reduced or delayed as a result of the pandemic as certain customers reduced discretionary spending. The risk of collecting accounts receivable is also enhanced as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19. While revenues for Fiscal 2021 increased as compared to Fiscal 2020, they were lower than anticipated due in part to the impact of COVID-19 and the resulting economic conditions. The impact of lower than anticipated revenue was further complicated by a significant increase in freight costs due to the global shipping container shortage caused in part by the pandemic.

Many government restrictions have been relaxed and the economy has continued to open in more jurisdictions. However, the emergence of new and transmittable variants of COVID-19 could lead to a possible resurgence of the virus, particularly in populations with low vaccination rates and has resulted in new restrictions in certain geographies and among certain businesses. The long-term financial impact on our business cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. As a result, the effects of COVID-19 may not be fully reflected in our financial results until future periods. Refer to “Part I, Item 1A — Risk Factors” for a description of the material risks that the Company currently faces in connection with COVID-19.

Until the pandemic is fully controlled, we expect business conditions to remain challenging. In response to these challenges, we will continue to focus on those factors that we can control: closely managing and controlling our expenses; aligning our design and development schedules with demand in a proactive manner as there are changes in market conditions to minimize our cash operating costs; pursuing further improvements in the productivity and effectiveness of our development, selling and administrative activities and, where appropriate, taking advantage of opportunities to enhance our business growth and strategy. To help mitigate the impact of these challenging business conditions, we implemented cost-cutting initiatives including reducing executive pay and Board of Directors compensation for the three months ended June 30, 2021. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources” section of Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for further description of these cost-cutting measures.