ghostwriter66
"Here - Hold my Beer"
Sorry for the title - seemed to be a little clickbait after I posted it ... I was going to go with Chinese New Year – or what I call “Where the ^$%^ is my battery shipment?” but that was toooo long
SOOOO every year we go through this TOPIC so going to try to help you. Hoping to make this short …but have I ever.
Bottom Line Up Front: If you need LiFePO4 batteries you should order them YESTERDAY !!!
The coming Chinese New Year is the most significant holiday for my people and also the longest one. This is a chaotic period during which the entire Chinese industry, ENTIRE …including the battery manufacturers and shippers ALL shut down for a month.
The Chinese New Year (CNY) of 2021 starts on Friday, 12 February, and officially lasts for 7 days in Mainland China. While many of us Asians are painfully aware of the Chinese New Year, and the coming disruption to all production, many of you “other” are not and are caught completely off guard. (No this is not a secret plan for world domination – but could be –
)
Also this year we also have the COVID-19 factor to take into consideration.
While the official holiday only lasts for about a week, most factories are closed for an entire month, (did I say that already) with disruptions lasting even longer.
SO a couple of things to keep in mind: While the Chinese New Year Eve is set on Friday, 12 February 2021, all suppliers start to wind down operations one to two weeks in advance.
THEN production is normally not started up for at least two weeks after the Chinese New Years Eve since most workers remain in their home provinces for an extra week or two. This explains why most suppliers are not back in business until two, sometimes even three, weeks after the Chinese New Years’ Eve.
As we have seen in especially the LiFePO4 market - Getting operations back to normal can take up to a month (or more) after the folks come back to work. The reason for that is that no one tells their employers that they are quitting until AFTER the holiday so they get their bonus and final paycheck already. Depending on the number of workers departing in secret, it can cause severe disruptions across the entire supply chain. Finding, and training, a new batch of workers provides new challenges of its own. Skilled workers are, to a certain degree, replaced by rookies. And in the battery business THAT is not good.
For Battery purchases, this is one, of two reasons, why the risk of quality issues is VERY HIGH right after the end of the Chinese New Year. Allot of the skilled battery workers are gone to other companies and suddenly you have “bubba” (not sure what bubba translates into Chinese) but suddenly Kim is trying to learn complex LiFePO4 battery manufacturing by watching a YouTube video …
If you are reading this on 13 DEC then you should already be thinking “If I need batteries in the next 4 months I need to order them NOW” ..
Avoid placing battery orders in January: Remember what I mentioned about the risk of quality issues Post-CNY? The same applies to the January rush, leading up to the CNY.
Never place orders UNTIL the manufacturer tells you that the will definitely ship and GET OUT OF CHINA prior to the shutdown. Just because it leaves the factory does not mean its on its way !!
If the company that you are buying batteries from is NOT a major company then I would try to avoid making payment prior to the Chinese New Year since some suppliers never open again. If they do intend to shut down, they’ll most likely do so at the time of the CNY.
So for my guys here at work this is our CNY 2021 Timeline… don’t quote me on this – this is just for our engineers ordering everything from batteries to antennas to naked farm animals …
This is a rough timeline. Ultimately, it depends on the suppliers’ schedule.
December 30: Last day to place an order for delivery before the CNY
January 15th – 22nd: No new orders are started (all new orders will enter production after CNY)
January 29th: Most suppliers and subcontractors stop production, causing disruption in the supply chain
February 5th: Most workers have already left the factories. Sales reps, engineers, and management may still be around for a couple of days
February 9th: All personnel has left the factory (including sales reps and managers)
February 12th: Chinese New Years Eve
February 22nd – 26th: Most sales reps and engineers are back in the factory, or at least respond to emails and calls. Some factories resume production
March 1st – 5th: Most factories are now operational and production resumes
SOOOO every year we go through this TOPIC so going to try to help you. Hoping to make this short …but have I ever.
Bottom Line Up Front: If you need LiFePO4 batteries you should order them YESTERDAY !!!
The coming Chinese New Year is the most significant holiday for my people and also the longest one. This is a chaotic period during which the entire Chinese industry, ENTIRE …including the battery manufacturers and shippers ALL shut down for a month.
The Chinese New Year (CNY) of 2021 starts on Friday, 12 February, and officially lasts for 7 days in Mainland China. While many of us Asians are painfully aware of the Chinese New Year, and the coming disruption to all production, many of you “other” are not and are caught completely off guard. (No this is not a secret plan for world domination – but could be –
)Also this year we also have the COVID-19 factor to take into consideration.
While the official holiday only lasts for about a week, most factories are closed for an entire month, (did I say that already) with disruptions lasting even longer.
SO a couple of things to keep in mind: While the Chinese New Year Eve is set on Friday, 12 February 2021, all suppliers start to wind down operations one to two weeks in advance.
THEN production is normally not started up for at least two weeks after the Chinese New Years Eve since most workers remain in their home provinces for an extra week or two. This explains why most suppliers are not back in business until two, sometimes even three, weeks after the Chinese New Years’ Eve.
As we have seen in especially the LiFePO4 market - Getting operations back to normal can take up to a month (or more) after the folks come back to work. The reason for that is that no one tells their employers that they are quitting until AFTER the holiday so they get their bonus and final paycheck already. Depending on the number of workers departing in secret, it can cause severe disruptions across the entire supply chain. Finding, and training, a new batch of workers provides new challenges of its own. Skilled workers are, to a certain degree, replaced by rookies. And in the battery business THAT is not good.
For Battery purchases, this is one, of two reasons, why the risk of quality issues is VERY HIGH right after the end of the Chinese New Year. Allot of the skilled battery workers are gone to other companies and suddenly you have “bubba” (not sure what bubba translates into Chinese) but suddenly Kim is trying to learn complex LiFePO4 battery manufacturing by watching a YouTube video …
If you are reading this on 13 DEC then you should already be thinking “If I need batteries in the next 4 months I need to order them NOW” ..
Avoid placing battery orders in January: Remember what I mentioned about the risk of quality issues Post-CNY? The same applies to the January rush, leading up to the CNY.
Never place orders UNTIL the manufacturer tells you that the will definitely ship and GET OUT OF CHINA prior to the shutdown. Just because it leaves the factory does not mean its on its way !!
If the company that you are buying batteries from is NOT a major company then I would try to avoid making payment prior to the Chinese New Year since some suppliers never open again. If they do intend to shut down, they’ll most likely do so at the time of the CNY.
So for my guys here at work this is our CNY 2021 Timeline… don’t quote me on this – this is just for our engineers ordering everything from batteries to antennas to naked farm animals …
This is a rough timeline. Ultimately, it depends on the suppliers’ schedule.
December 30: Last day to place an order for delivery before the CNY
January 15th – 22nd: No new orders are started (all new orders will enter production after CNY)
January 29th: Most suppliers and subcontractors stop production, causing disruption in the supply chain
February 5th: Most workers have already left the factories. Sales reps, engineers, and management may still be around for a couple of days
February 9th: All personnel has left the factory (including sales reps and managers)
February 12th: Chinese New Years Eve
February 22nd – 26th: Most sales reps and engineers are back in the factory, or at least respond to emails and calls. Some factories resume production
March 1st – 5th: Most factories are now operational and production resumes
