Tips for Exporters to deal with Customers in China during the Chinese New Year Holidays
Exporters to China often notice increased demands and irritability from their customers as China comes into its New Year Festivals.
2022 will bring in the Ox as the year, and exporters will face increased pressures regarding travel restrictions, price increases and production delays. Include in the headwinds of Covid, and even the most experienced firms can face stain in the supply chain.
This article will offer tips and guidance for exporters on how to reduce the challenges they may face when supplying goods to China during its 2022 New Year holidays.
What type of China Supply Chain Challenges will Exporters face during the China New Year Holidays?
Usually, many exporters to China can experience a significant increase in demand from Chinese buyers for their products. Producers of luxury goods or food and beverages often experience this.
Covid travel restrictions have reduced the ability of many companies to visit their customers in China. It may lead to many exporters having to put in measures to take many types of questions from their Chinese customers.
Many Chinese buyers may also delay purchases until they know if their customers are affected by any potential Covid restrictions.
Forecasting Chinese New Year Sales is also a challenge for companies. Many exporters are struggling to assess how the impact of Covid and the economic slowdown in China will affect demand for their products.
Below are three areas where you might experience issues in the run-up to the Chinese New Year Holidays:
- Increased demands and lack of patience from your buyers in China.
- Transporting goods to China.
- Getting payment from your buyers in China.
So below are some trade questions you might have about how to deal with the Chinese New Holidays.
How to deal with impatient customers in China?
Many exporters may face an increased lack of patience and irritability from their customers in China.
The main reason for this is that, due to economic and Covid reasons, exporters to China cannot forecast demand for their goods in China accurately.
Additionally, many firms face delays in transporting their goods to China, which can frustrate their customers in China, who may experience stockouts or delivery delays during their busy trading period.
In our experience, we have found that China Call Centre services experience a peak demand in Chinese buyers’ calls in the run-up to the holidays.
The best approaches to supporting your Chinese buyers for the New Year holidays are as follows:
- Build up communications with your customers in China about their expected Chinese New Year orders. Ask them about quantities, delivery dates and any other expectations they may have.
- Bring in the services of a Chinese Third-party Customer Support provider for the busy holiday period. This team in China can bring in additional hours of support service for your customers plus offer extra resources to your Sales team. To find out more, please visit TCIs China Sales Supports
- Keep informing your customers in China about any price changes. Many are so busy that they might only realise the cost of the goods after they have issued payment. It is best to try and avoid price disputes with customers.
Am I able to ship my goods to China?
2021 has been one of the most challenging years for shipping in recent memories.
Currently, there is a massive shortage of shipping space, and many ships are waiting at docks for months to get unloaded. When writing this article, ships are waiting for four weeks to be allowed to dock and have their goods unloaded in Antwerp.
If your goods are not yet in a container and on the sea to China, you should strongly consider looking at other freight options such as rail or air to move your goods to China.
What are the difficulties flying my goods to China for the 2022 Chinese New Year Holidays?
In normal times, airfreight rates are 12 times more expensive than shipping rates. However, at the end of 2021, airfreight rates are not only three times the rate of shipping.
It has led to a massive increase in demand for airfreight. However, China has imposed restrictions on flights coming into the country, so many exporters are now struggling to get space on aircraft.
Building up relationships with a good quality logistics firm will enhance your companies ability to get space on flights. The main goal should be to get your goods onto a plane, not finding the cheapest freight rate at this time of year.
Should I give payment terms to my Customers in China?
Stories are emerging that the Chinese economy is not as strong as in the past. There is a lot of debt, and some companies are struggling to raise finance to fund their businesses.
Chinese New Year holidays also means that Chinese businesses require more cash to pay Wages and cash bonuses to their employees, pay tax to the Chinese government and repay loans or other debts to shadow lenders.
It may lead to some Chinese companies requesting additional payment terms from you or delaying paying any outstanding balances.
You are advised not to offer any additional payment terms unless your company has credit insurance covering any other payment terms.
You should not send any goods to Chinese Customers if any owed monies have not been paid.
About TCI China
TCI China has been helping firms source products from China for over 20 years. Since 2018 we have developed a specifically designed service to support Small Medium Businesses (SMBs) who list products on Amazon Marketplace to source their goods from China.
If you are looking for more information, please do not hesitate to contact me on my LinkedIn profile or at the details below:
Mobile- Messenger (Click to Connect)
Or at the following numbers:
(Europe/ Rest of the World) +353 1 885 3919
(UK) +44.020.3287.2990
(North America) +1.518.290.6604
Or email me, Aidan Conaty
Aidan Conaty