By now you probably already know about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), unless you’ve been living under a rock, it seems like it’s everything everyone talks about either on social media, television or while sitting having lunch. But what you don’t know is how it affects a certain category in business, Dropshippers.
If you are a Dropshipper then you better start taking notes now.
1- Delays, delays, and delays…
Countries all over the world have taken safety measures like restricting movement between cities or other countries, meaning there will be a delay in handling and shipping mail, so make sure to communicate with your supplier before taking orders and understand more about the situation and the level of restrictions implemented in their country.
You’ll also need to be prepared to receive and offer partial or full refunds for the products that didn’t reach their destination. Plus, you need to be very honest and clear with your customers and have a notification in your Return and Refund policy pages, alerting them of the situation and to expect delays.
2- What are the safety measures that I should take with the packages and products?
At this point in time, the WHO has still not found any evidence that the virus can be transmitted through parcels. Only that it can be transmitted from human to human through droplets while sneezing or coughing.
But, some researchers found that it can live up to two days on some surfaces. So you should still take preventative measures and sanitize your products and packages.
3- When can warehouses and manufacturies return to normal?
Unfortunately, at this point in time, they’re still no specific date as to when things might return to normal, each country is dealing with the crisis in their own way. Some manufacturers in countries like China are gradually resuming their operations, but it’s still not with the same level as before, but in other countries like Italy and Spain who were hit very badly by the virus are just easing down their travel restrictions little by little and are considering allowing tourists back in July, but everything can change in one moment if they see a spick in cases again.
4- Is there any relief plan I can benefit from?
With the lockdown restrictions, a lot of businesses will be facing a lot of financial difficulties, so governments like in the United Kingdom released schemes like the COVID-19 relief plan for businesses and the self-employed and recently they announced the Bounce Back Loan Plan.
You can read more about the two plans here :
5- When can things go back to normal?
Unfortunately, no one knows, and with no vaccine, we now have to learn to live with it with listening to medical professionals and governing bodies. Also, things are changing gradually so you need to keep yourself informed from reliable sources and not miss anything business-related.
For more information please check out the sources :
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/covid-19-through-air-contaminated-objects
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-supp
https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/faqs/ort-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19
