LIVE UPDATES: Supply Chain Update About Coronavirus in China
UPDATE 3/2/2020: Check out our first episode of RepairTalk TV above, where we sit down with our CEO Jordan Notenbaum, Director of Sales Eric Madden, and Supplier Development Manager Zach Miller, about the impact that the coronavirus has had on our supply chain thus far.
Although the parts market is still closed until April 8th, many factories and traders have reopened and have begun shipping product. However, many of these factories are still experiencing shortages of raw materials and employees.
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UPDATE 2/20/2020: The electronic parts market has delayed reopening until Wednesday, April 8th. As a reminder, there are some factories and traders in China that have already begun going back to work. However, raw materials and employees are still limited.
We're happy to report that our partnered factories have been able to start shipping more supply as of this morning. These orders will likely see slower shipping times. We will continue to keep you updated as more news from our Chinese office becomes available.
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UPDATE 2/13/2020: The electronic parts market is now closed until Friday, March 6th. There are some factories and traders in China that will be going back to work before that time. The majority of their stock will either be:
- Surplus stock that they had in their facilities before Chinese New Year
- Product that they produce with raw materials that they still have from before Chinese New Year
Some of the raw material vendors will still be out of commission, so once the surplus materials are used, we could see some stock restraints once again.
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We wanted to post an update about the status of the parts market since the coronavirus outbreak that has affected parts of Asia, particularly China.
Last week, it was announced that the market in Shenzhen had delayed re-opening after Chinese New Year until next Monday, February 10th. We, along with others in the industry, had suspected that there would be a further delay, and this was recently confirmed. We received word from some of our Chinese employees this morning that the market has delayed re-opening until Wednesday, February 19th. It is likely that orders will be shipped out a week or two after the market re-opens in order to give our partnered factories time to train any new employees, source raw materials, and start production back up.
What does this mean for our supply chain?
Every year, Mobile Defenders stocks up on product in preparation for Chinese New Year. Although news of the severity of the coronavirus was shared after the ports had already closed for Chinese New Year, we already had overstock in transit to our facility. We are currently working with non-Chinese suppliers as a backup, in the event that our current stock runs low.
We suggest carrying some extra inventory in your location as a preventative measure, in case our supply is further disrupted.
We are dedicated to eliminating as many hiccups from your supply chain as possible, however the health and safety of our Chinese employees is our first priority. We appreciate your patience and understanding and will provide any further updates as news becomes available.
