Out of stock warning! Multiple warehouses are seriously out of stock

Amazon warehouses are in a state of continuous overload.

Among sellers in recent times, "warehouse explosion", "out of stock" and "difficulty in listing" have become the norm for hot searches. Many sellers are looking forward to seeing a surge in traffic and a surge in orders during the peak season, but problems frequently occur in the logistics link, holding back the sellers.

Amazon's multiple warehouses are seriously overwhelmed

Amazon’s warehouses are often overwhelmed during the peak shipping season, and the situation is even worse this year. Since the end of September, the term “warehouse overwhelm” has never fallen off the hot search list in the cross-border circle. Sellers who are worried about problems such as listing dare not relax for a moment.

According to the freight forwarder, many Amazon warehouses are in a state of overstocking. LGB8, which has been plagued by problems, is also unable to escape the fate of overstocking this time. The contract is pending, the warehouse entry time is delayed, and the unloading time is an average of 12-18 hours.

New warehouses have always had the same problem: they are overloaded as soon as they are put into use. This is also true for new warehouses such as MIT2 and GEU3. Due to factors such as insufficient inventory capacity and labor shortages, they have suspended receiving goods. A seller using the MIT2 warehouse said: "It is expected to be delayed by 1-3 weeks, and the appointment has been postponed and cancelled." According to industry insiders, the warehouse only has 3 staff members (goose, head is big...)

However, warehouses such as XLX7, IUSP, JOT1, and QXY5 have stopped approving contracts due to severe liquidation. Warehouses such as FWA4, MQJ1, RFD2, GYR2, ORF2, ABE8 , TEB9, AVP1, RMN3, and SWF2 have experienced liquidation , and there are cases of continuous contract skipping , contract deletion, and non-release .

The same warehouse explosion situation is not only seen in the United States, but also in Amazon warehouses in Vancouver, Japan, Australia, etc. Taking Japan as an example, warehouses such as TY06, TY07, TY08, and TY09 are difficult to enter, and the warehouses are basically closed after mid-December.

With only a little over a week left until Black Friday, the good news is that there will be a two-week promotion. The bad news is that there is a serious warehouse overflow. Sellers’ large quantities of inventory are all piled up in overseas warehouses and cannot be delivered, and the products cannot be put on the shelves.

"I don't expect to catch up with Black Friday, I just hope that the goods can be delivered and sold as soon as possible," one seller said helplessly. It has become normal for Amazon FBA goods to not be put on the shelves for a long time. Most sellers' goods have not been put on the shelves for more than a month, and even goods signed for in September have not been put on the shelves. Some sellers say that the speed of putting them on the shelves in 30 days is already normal.

Even if sellers prepare goods for shipment in advance, they still cannot escape the fate of slow listing. Some sellers said that the goods were put into the warehouse, but not put on the shelves, so that the ranking was dragged down, which poured cold water on sellers who wanted to rely on the peak season to fight for orders.

The overflow of goods may directly lead to the seller's out of stock or backlog of inventory, and the difficulty in warehousing and listing will extend the seller's delivery time. Industry insiders expect that the delay in listing will continue for some time. Both factors will undoubtedly cause a certain blow to the seller's store.

However, some sellers consoled them: “Don’t expect too much from Black Friday. Even if you participate, you will lose profits. You can spend 12 days doing charity and improving rankings, but sales may not be good.”

According to freight forwarders, Russia has recently stepped up inspections of transit vehicles. All trucks carrying e-commerce goods must queue up to enter the EU, extending the time limit for entry.

At present, there are more than 800 cabinets waiting in line for inspection at the border. Normally, the entry time is about 10 days, but the congestion caused by inspection may cause the entry time into Europe to be extended to 15-20 days, or even longer.

The inspection is expected to take anywhere from a few weeks to several months. Among them, batteries, military products, toy guns and other products will be inspected in more detail, and Qatar Airways' timeliness will also be affected.

Another price increase? Multiple shipping companies released notices for December

On the logistics side, sellers are facing not only problems such as warehouse overflow and difficulty in listing products, but also problems such as rising logistics costs. The price increases at the tail end and by shipping companies are ostensibly to cover the freight costs during the peak season, but for sellers, it means a higher logistics cost burden.

In particular, since September, Amazon has issued a price increase notice for large, oversized, and small standard items, with the small standard item alone increasing from $0.19 to $0.41. This does not include the peak season storage fees that sellers have to pay.

The tail end is also implementing surcharge increases, including DHL, Fedex, UPS and other logistics companies have issued notices to increase peak season surcharges. Take UPS as an example, it has raised its surcharge from US$3.5 to US$7.75 in mid-September, and is expected to increase its surcharge for the second time on November 24, to US$9.95.

There is no doubt that the increase in logistics costs will increase the costs of sellers and will also pass on more costs to consumers. Will consumers pay for this? There is great uncertainty even in adjusting shopping habits and time, and it may also "give away heads" to competitors.

Recently, many shipping companies have announced their freight rate adjustment plans for December, covering multiple routes including Europe and the Mediterranean.

Specifically, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company will adjust the rates for exports from Asia (including Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia) to Northern Europe to US$3,780 for a 20-foot container and US$6,300 for a 40-foot container. The regulations will take effect on December 1, but not later than December 14.

Hapag-Lloyd raised the FAK rate between the Far East and Europe , which took effect on December 1. The regulation mainly applies to 20-foot and 40-foot dry containers and refrigerated containers. Taking Northern Europe as an example, the prices of 20-foot, 40-foot and 40-foot ultra-high dry containers are US$3,400, US$6,100 and US$6,100 respectively.

In addition to raising relevant rates, Maersk also raised the peak season surcharge PSS for China to New Zealand, Fiji, etc., and the Far East to Australia, Papua New Guinea, etc., which is expected to take effect on December 1.

CMA CGM also announced a Rate Recovery Plan (RRI) to be implemented on December 1, mainly targeting cargo shipped from the west coast of Canada to China, Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. It plans to increase the fee by US$50 for 20-foot containers and US$100 for 40-foot and 45-foot hardcover containers. However, the specific situation of the corresponding shipping company's levy rate still needs to be consulted with the corresponding shipping company.

Compared with the sharp downturn in the container shipping market some time ago, the recent container shipping market has obviously heated up. There have been changes to varying degrees in each stage, but in the final analysis, it is the increase in costs that cannot be avoided. Warehouse overflow and difficulty in listing products have affected the sales of sellers' products, while the increase in logistics costs has directly affected the costs of sellers.

It is not difficult to see that the logistics link is full of challenges. The only way for sellers to ensure that there are no mistakes during the peak season is to pay close attention to market trends and the freight industry, and adjust cargo transportation, selling prices, etc. in a timely manner.

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Liquidation

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