Supply Chain Snafus Could Affect What’s Available to you on Prime Day - Scott Storkamp
Global supply chain disruptions can have catastrophic effects on sellers. E-commerce retailers like Amazon face the biggest impact, especially during periods of high demand such as the holiday season and big sales. Stores and distribution centers struggle to keep up inventory and find themselves missing out on potential opportunities to increase revenue. This was increasingly evident on Amazon Prime Day of 2021.
Covid 19 outbreaks in different cities and countries across the world, led to what might seem like minor changes or disruptions in supply chains but had colossal effects. To keep up with demand, companies found themselves stocking up on inventory months in advance in preparation to mitigate any potential disaster. This, however, is not an easy task. In an industry running on slim margins, with increasing costs in abundance, the majority of companies and sellers struggle to generate sufficient cash to be able to purchase and store large amounts of inventory. It is only the large players who are able to do so, monopolizing the industry to some extent, leaving small and medium third-party sellers to pay the price.
With goods stuck in ports, shipping container shortages, and the Suez Canal, the busiest trade route on the map, more congested than it has ever been, the industry as a whole is certainly struggling. “It’s not just one sector that’s being harmed as a result, everyone is hurt because of it,” claimed Jonathan Gold, Vice President of supply chain and customs policy for the National Retail Federation. Products are going out of stock in short periods of time, and sales are not as great a deal as they have been in previous years, leaving customers disappointed as well.
Amazon Prime Day, a short 2-day sale in June, that many might not have even been aware of, was a minor display of the effects on consumers, producers, and sellers that disruptions in global supply chains can and will have. Although Covid-19 rates are reducing globally, the global supply chain is recovering with a lag, and we can expect to see similar situations, to a much larger extent, in the upcoming holiday season.
PS: Get your Christmas presents early this year because they might just run out!
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