For dropshipping businesses that source and manufacture products from China, you must be familiar with Lunar New Year or also called Chinese New Year (abbreviated as CNY). Many dropshipping sellers understand that the Chinese New Year has a big impact on production, supply chains, and shipping times. Especially this year’s CNY is earlier than ever.
So let’s help you understand what to expect and how to prepare in advance for CNY of 2023!
What are the timelines for CNY 2023?
Chinese New Year begins on January 22, 2023, and ends on February 5, 2023.
Here are the general key dates to keep in mind:
- Beginning of January: Businesses are starting to slow down and some factories are closing early
- January 21st, New Year’s Eve: All employees will leave their office
- January 22nd, New Year: Chinese New Year celebration begins
- January 27th: Chinese New Year ends
- February 8th, The Lantern festival: which marks the end of the 15-day New Year Celebration
All the businesses in China are expected to return to normal by the end of February.
How would it affect my eCommerce business?
For all eCommerce business that relies on manufacturing in China or other countries that celebrate Chinese New Year, your business would probably be affected by the shutdown during the holiday. Even if only one step of your supply chain is from China, your will need to notice the major impacts that may affect your eCommerce business.
1. Delays in production
During the Chinese New Year holiday, all factories will be closed and employees would go home for about 2 weeks and up. Some factories are leaving earlier this year, and you will be expecting production to slow down starting at the beginning of January.
2. Out of stock
Many factories will clear their inventory near the end of the year and start preparing for the new stock after the holiday. So if you are planning to ship out products from the suppliers during this time, there is a chance that they will be out of stock.
3. Shortage in the workforce due to the Covid epidemic
China has just released a zero-COVID policy for 2023 which may cause other impacts on the Chinese New Year. After the release of Covid control, the rising positive cases in China have significantly lowered the workforce in China.
4. Delays in shipment
Most business would increase their production in advance to pre-stock their inventory.
This often leads to an overload of shipments before the holiday. Even if you have planned ahead and stocked up some inventory with your suppliers during the Chinese New Year, your shipment may still encounter several days of delay.
How to get ahead of these potential delays### 1. Increase inventory in advance
It’s always better to be over-prepared with your most popular products to avoid the potential of running out or having to wait.
For those of you who are planning to sell customized goods or seasonal goods for Valentine’s Day and springtime, it is especially necessary to prepare ahead.
2. Take advantage of China Warehouse
Even though most of your suppliers have gone home during the CNY, you can purchase enough stock and store them at our China warehouse. This way you can lower the risk of no inventory and whenever your customer place orders, the warehouse staff can process and ship them out to your customers immediately.
3. Keep in touch with your supplier and shipping company
It’s a good habit to keep close contact with your supplier and shipping company because you have skipped the steps to arrange to ship or produce the product on your own. There is a great chance that you will miss some important information in between.
Keep track of things like when your supplier factory will be closed or if any fast shipping channels have become unavailable.
4. F****ind Trustworthy Fulfillment Service Provider - HyperSKU
If you are looking for an experienced and trustworthy fulfillment service provider, HyperSKU will be your best helper!
We have over 7 warehouses to help ease the stress of any possible Covid shutdown during the Chinese New Year. You will be serviced by a dedicated team of up to 3 agents including support, sales, and account manager. Furthermore, our team will help you to get the best price we can during this time since many Chinese factories are clearing their stock a the end of the year.
For more detailed information, please read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3Cnn2dj