Out of stock! Sellers are delayed in preparing goods before the New Year, and UPS in Europe has stopped accepting domestic express parcels

Due to snowstorms, the epidemic and other reasons, sellers reported that the goods they were supposed to ship before the New Year were on the way and all were delayed, resulting in a serious shortage of goods after the New Year. They began to feel anxious and started the "wait, wait, wait" mode...

On the other hand, due to Brexit and backlogs in Europe, freight forwarders said that European UPS Express has suspended accepting goods in China, and after the 25th, goods through the European UPS tax-inclusive channel have basically stopped being exported and loaded onto planes.

But good news has also come one after another. The British Prime Minister announced today that the lockdown will be lifted soon and everything will return to normal in June. By then, the logistics situation at the tail end will also be alleviated. I believe there is still room for development before the peak season.

Severely out of stock! Sellers are waiting for the stock before the New Year

Not long after work started, sellers mentioned "out of stock" much more often than "restricted delivery" because the goods they prepared before the New Year had not arrived again!

The seller's anxious mood is as follows ↓↓,

——"I have hardly checked the data since the Spring Festival. I was shocked when I looked at it today. Half of the products are out of stock, and the remaining ones are not much different. I shipped a lot of goods before the New Year, but all of them were delayed. I shipped so much before the New Year, and in such a hurry, but for what? It was all in vain..."

——"Due to the snowstorm, many shipments have been delayed..."

——"It has not arrived yet since it was shipped in January."

——"The shortage is very serious. The port is blocked and the goods cannot be unloaded. We have to wait until they are out of stock. The shortage is terrible..."

The reasons for the shortage are actually: port congestion, snowstorms, FBA warehouse closures, truck suspensions, and FedEx/UPS/USPS suspension of services in some areas.

There are so many reasons that you can’t even count them on ten fingers. Sellers just hate that they can’t become couriers and quickly deliver the goods to the customer’s door.

Due to the serious backlog, European UPS Express notified that it would suspend domestic collection

For sellers, it is definitely a good thing to stock up through multiple channels, but for sellers and freight forwarders in the European market, due to the impact of the epidemic and Brexit, European UPS Express has notified domestic UPS that it will not accept parcels, and UPS has basically stopped exporting goods after the 25th.

The logistics company responsible for this channel has issued a notice: "Affected by Brexit and the epidemic, customs clearance is currently only possible in the Netherlands and Belgium. Due to the large volume of goods, the local UPS cannot cooperate with the operation. Belgium has a backlog of 30,000 express parcels. The UPS Hong Kong department has been communicating with foreign UPS. UPS has basically stopped exporting goods after the 25th . Goods that have not been unpacked from the air boxes at the destination are likely to be returned to Hong Kong, and the return time has not yet been determined. It is currently unknown how long this situation will last. "

The freight forwarder also stated that European UPS has notified domestic UPS to suspend receiving goods, and after Brexit, Europe will not allow the tax-inclusive channel.

Many freight forwarders heading to Europe have confirmed this. Although the UPS channel is not possible, other channels for air delivery to Europe can still be considered.

The UK officially announced a four-step unblocking plan, and will fully return to normal in June

The third lockdown of many European countries, represented by the UK, has lasted for more than a month. Recently, in view of the significant decline in the number of new crown cases, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has formulated a plan to end the UK's new crown lockdown in stages.

The plan is divided into four stages, with five weeks in between , and most restrictions will be lifted in the final step, which could happen as early as June 21.

As can be seen from the above figure, in the first phase, priority will be given to schools that open on March 8.

"There is no credible path to a zero-COVID Britain or a zero-COVID world. We cannot continue indefinitely while these restrictions undermine our economy, our physical and mental health and our children's life chances," Johnson told parliament.

"That's why it's so important to craft this roadmap out of lockdown carefully, but also be irreversible," he said . "I hope and believe that we are on a one-way street to freedom."

The reopening of schools is expected to help the economy and provide relief to parents who have to balance work and homeschooling.

However, any easing of social mixing will initially be limited, with the government asking people to work from home where they can for a few weeks until a review of social distancing is completed by June 21.

Small numbers of people are expected to be able to move around outdoors by the end of March, but non-essential shops and outdoor hospitality are not expected to reopen until April 12 at the earliest.

Most outdoor socialising rules will be lifted no earlier than May 17, while all legal restrictions on outdoor socialising could be lifted from June 21 at the earliest.

The UK has the fifth highest number of deaths from the coronavirus in the world, with more than 120,000, after the United States, Brazil, Mexico and India.

But the country's rapid vaccination rate, combined with a strict third national lockdown, has led to a significant drop in new infections, so Britain may be seen as a test case for governments hoping to reopen the economy and return life to some semblance of normality.

Now, lawmakers will have the opportunity to vote on specific steps as the plan unfolds.

Authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which are responsible for their own public health, will also ease restrictions in the coming months.

Amazon launches small and light package labeling and pre-processing services in 5 European countries

Recently, Amazon announced that starting from February 11, it will launch labeling and pre-processing services for inventory in the Amazon FBA Small and Light program in the five countries of the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

It is reported that through the FBA label service, Amazon will apply Amazon barcodes to sellers' light and small items and charge per piece. In addition, sellers can also use the preparation service, and Amazon will package the products.

The relevant charges are as follows:

According to the announcement, small and light products packaged in France, Spain and Italy already require barcode labels. Therefore, sellers can use the Amazon Logistics Labeling Service to affix Amazon barcodes to their small and light product program products.

In addition, sellers' Small and Light items can also use other prep services, including polybag packaging, bubble wrap packaging, encapsulation, and opaque packaging.

It is reported that from June 1, for small and light commodity program products registered in Germany and the United Kingdom, each product will need to have a separate barcode to better track the seller's products.

If your products are enrolled in the Small and Light program in Germany or the United Kingdom, you can use the Amazon Fulfillment Label Service to help fulfill shipping.

Amazon will also provide free Amazon barcodes for small and light products, and will announce any changes to the above fees in advance. In addition, sellers can also use other pre-processing services for small and light products, including polybag packaging, bubble film packaging, encapsulation and opaque packaging.

logistics