OVERVIEW	12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2022
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
OVERVIEW	NOTE 1 OVERVIEW Business Forward Industries, Inc. (“Forward”, “we”, “our”, or the “Company”), is a global design, manufacturing, sourcing and distribution group serving top tier medical and technology customers worldwide. As a result of the continued expansion of our design development capabilities through our wholly-owned subsidiaries, IPS and Kablooe, the Company is 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. The Company’s design division provides hardware and software product design and engineering services to customers predominantly located in the U.S. The Company’s OEM distribution division sources and sells carrying cases and other accessories for medical monitoring and diagnostic kits as well as a variety of other portable electronic and non-electronic devices to original equipment manufacturers (“OEM”s), or their contract manufacturers worldwide, 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 retail distribution division sources and sells smart-enabled furniture, hot tubs and various other products through various online retailer websites to customers predominantly located in the U.S. The Company does not manufacture any of its OEM or retail products and sources substantially all of these products from independent suppliers in China, through Forward Industries Asia-Pacific Corporation, a British Virgin Islands corporation (“Forward China”). See Note 13. Liquidity In Fiscal 2022, the Company generated a net loss of $1,378,000 and $1,535,000 of cash flows from operating activities. Based on our forecasted cash flows, we believe our existing cash balance and working capital will be sufficient to meet our liquidity needs through at least December 31, 2023. Impact of COVID-19 The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to impact the retail and OEM distribution segments of our business. The increase in global consumer demand, coupled with the global shipping container shortage, dramatically increased demand for both ocean freight and ground transportation. These factors led to a significant increase in freight costs, particularly from the Asia-Pacific region and most notably in Fiscal 2022. Labor shortages at U.S. ports and in ground transportation services caused container ships to spend a significant amount of time waiting for goods to be unloaded and to arrive at our warehouses. These factors caused an increase in the demand for and cost of ground transportation and delayed consumer availability for many of our products in Fiscal 2022. The timing and extent of these COVID-19 related transportation disruptions are still largely unknown but are expected to continue into Fiscal 2023. The effects of the pandemic had a lesser impact on the design segment of our business. Rising inflation caused an increase in the cost of acquiring and retaining our employees, particularly in the second half of Fiscal 2022. The timing and extent of future inflation is difficult to predict, but we expect these rising costs to continue into Fiscal 2023. The effects of COVID-19 may further impact our business in ways we cannot predict, and such impacts could be significant. The current economic conditions may continue to negatively impact our results of operations, cash flows and financial position in future periods as well as that of our customers, including their ability to pay for our products and services and to choose to allocate their budgets to new or existing projects which may or may not require our products and services. 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. Until the effects of the pandemic have fully receded, 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 and inventory levels; aligning our design and development schedules with demand in a proactive manner 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.

OVERVIEW

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

NOTE 1 OVERVIEW

Business

Forward Industries, Inc. (“Forward”, “we”, “our”, or the “Company”), is a global design, manufacturing, sourcing and distribution group serving top tier medical and technology customers worldwide. As a result of the continued expansion of our design development capabilities through our wholly-owned subsidiaries, IPS and Kablooe, the Company is 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.

The Company’s design division provides hardware and software product design and engineering services to customers predominantly located in the U.S. The Company’s OEM distribution division sources and sells carrying cases and other accessories for medical monitoring and diagnostic kits as well as a variety of other portable electronic and non-electronic devices to original equipment manufacturers (“OEM”s), or their contract manufacturers worldwide, 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 retail distribution division sources and sells smart-enabled furniture, hot tubs and various other products through various online retailer websites to customers predominantly located in the U.S.

The Company does not manufacture any of its OEM or retail products and sources substantially all of these products from independent suppliers in China, through Forward Industries Asia-Pacific Corporation, a British Virgin Islands corporation (“Forward China”). See Note 13.

Liquidity

In Fiscal 2022, the Company generated a net loss of $1,378,000 and $1,535,000 of cash flows from operating activities. Based on our forecasted cash flows, we believe our existing cash balance and working capital will be sufficient to meet our liquidity needs through at least December 31, 2023.

Impact of COVID-19

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to impact the retail and OEM distribution segments of our business. The increase in global consumer demand, coupled with the global shipping container shortage, dramatically increased demand for both ocean freight and ground transportation. These factors led to a significant increase in freight costs, particularly from the Asia-Pacific region and most notably in Fiscal 2022. Labor shortages at U.S. ports and in ground transportation services caused container ships to spend a significant amount of time waiting for goods to be unloaded and to arrive at our warehouses. These factors caused an increase in the demand for and cost of ground transportation and delayed consumer availability for many of our products in Fiscal 2022. The timing and extent of these COVID-19 related transportation disruptions are still largely unknown but are expected to continue into Fiscal 2023.

The effects of the pandemic had a lesser impact on the design segment of our business. Rising inflation caused an increase in the cost of acquiring and retaining our employees, particularly in the second half of Fiscal 2022. The timing and extent of future inflation is difficult to predict, but we expect these rising costs to continue into Fiscal 2023.

The effects of COVID-19 may further impact our business in ways we cannot predict, and such impacts could be significant. The current economic conditions may continue to negatively impact our results of operations, cash flows and financial position in future periods as well as that of our customers, including their ability to pay for our products and services and to choose to allocate their budgets to new or existing projects which may or may not require our products and services. 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.

Until the effects of the pandemic have fully receded, 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 and inventory levels; aligning our design and development schedules with demand in a proactive manner 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.