7 Figure Seller Summit

Archive Monthly Archives: September 2021

The 80/20 of Ecommerce -September 10, 2021

Covid waves will hit the global supply chain for two years, Reagan economist warns

Economist John Rutledge, who was an advisor to President Regan, said that “the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to inflict pain on the global supply chain and contribute to the semi logjam into 2023.”

The reasons include:

  1. Pandemics come in waves – it’s not “one and done”.  There was the initial Covid-19 “alpha” strain which ebbed and flowed and now we are getting hit with the “Delta” strain which is more severe and leading to a spike in cases.  We may see more mutations later which will cause spikes in cases and continue to wreak havoc to the parts of the supply chain.
  1. Worker shortages – it’s uncertain whether this can be solved in the near future.  Due to the stimulus packages as well as workers not feeling safe (or unwilling) to return to work the lack of workers is hurting the supply chain from seaman to port truckers.  

This means that the Perfect Storm of Logistics may extend into 2023!

So you’re probably wondering what’s the best way to manage your inventory to prepare for Q4 and beyond

How to prepare inventory for Q4 and beyond – Live Webinar by So Stocked 9/16 at 2PM PST

To help you prepare your inventory so you don’t run out of stock while dealing with Amazon inventory restrictions, I’d like to invite you to a live webinar by Chelsea Cohen from So Stocked.  

She spoke at the last 7FSS and So Stocked is a secret weapon used by a number of 7 Figure Amazon sellers to help manage their inventory forecasting so they don’t run out of stock or over order.  

Chelsea will be giving a live webinar next week and you are invited.  

Amazon’s new restock limits, we are no longer just marketers. We must also be good inventory managers. This webinar by SoStocked will help you to adopt inventory management best practices and to restructure your logistics to prepare inventory for Q4 and beyond.  

Thursday, September 16th (11 am PST/2 pm EST)

Register here: https://sostocked.com/inventory-secrets/?via=7fss

Please note that I am an affiliate for So Stocked so if you do decide to use their paid service I will receive a small commission which helps pay for my coffee!  If not, no worries, feel free to join their free webinar to learn inventory management best practices nonetheless.

Here are some things you may have missed recently:

Have a great weekend!

Gary

The 80/20 of Ecommerce – September 3, 2021

As we are turning the calendar to September, Happy Labor Day to those celebrating in the US!  

It’s the unofficial end of summer as we are almost entering fall and Q4.  

Meanwhile, because of space issues and Covid risks at our current residence, my family and I decided to move our home this week which is a big project so this will be a short newsletter.  

59 container ships stuck “at anchor” at the Port of Long Beach

It seems that the shipping headaches continue as there are now 59 container ships “at anchor” at the Port of Long Beach according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California.  

According to Business Insider, the Port of Long Beach, CA accounts for nearly one-third of US imports.  

The reasons for the wait include “ the labor shortage, COVID-19-related disruptions, and holiday-buying surges. 

Port of Los Angeles data indicated that the ships’ average wait time had increased to 7.6 days.”

 “The normal number of container ships at anchor is between zero and one,” according to Kip Louttit.

Source: Southern California Marine Exchange

As you can see from this graph, the problem seems to be escalating.  

Plan ahead guys and if you don’t have your orders for Q4 on the boat yet, better move fast so you don’t miss out!

Amazon bans over 50,000 “Blackhat” sellers in China

This can be considered “good news” for ecommerce sellers who are playing by the rules.  

According to a Global Times report “Since May, Amazon has blocked up to 50,000 Chinese sellers on its platform. The reasons for the ban include “improper use of review functions”, “soliciting fake reviews,” and “manipulating reviews by giving gift cards.”

What are the banned sellers doing to react?  

Some are looking at setting up their own websites to eliminate the risk of putting all their eggs in one Amazon basket.

But it’s not so easy driving traffic and building trust selling from your own website.

There is a saying in Chinese called “Kill the Chicken to scare the Monkey”.  Will this bloodletting by Amazon be the wakeup call needed to jolt Chinese blackhat sellers that they need to start playing by the rules? 

Time will tell!

The moral of the story is: In any case it makes business and ethical sense to play by the rules.

Here are some things you may have missed recently:

Have a great weekend!

Gary