Deliveries from China to Thailand delayed due to coronavirus outbreak

 

Bangkok (VNA) – Thai e-commerce and logistics operators said the ongoing coronavirus outbreak has hampered parcel deliveries from China, and they are working to ensure access and rein in the prices of disease-prevention accessories such as face masks and hand sanitiser.

Marketing manager of Shopee Thailand Suchaya Paleewong said Shopee users could have to wait for shipments from China due to recent developments of the novel virus outbreak.

Shopee are taking stringent measures to ensure that its staff and warehouses in China are adequately protected from the virus, she said, adding Shopee transit warehouses in China are disinfected daily and the body temperature of all employees is being checked before they enter the facilities.

Meanwhile, Lazada Thailand announced orders placed after January 20 are expected to have tardy processing and shipping, partly driven by the virus spread.

Lazada is exercising all efforts to debunk myths and better match demand with supply by leveraging technology and logistics capabilities within Lazada and its parent Alibaba. All of Lazada’s warehouses are disinfected and all staff undergo daily temperature checks, while stringent sanitisation processes will be followed before staff handle packages.

The company will work with brands and sellers to ensure that prices of face masks are kept reasonable, it said.

Chief executive Sutthikead Chantarachairoij of Shippop, a local logistics aggregator startup, said 500 social commerce merchants are experiencing delays in shipments of products ordered from China.

With a delay of 7-15 days, those with small inventory, particularly PET plastic products, will suffer supply shortages.

He noticed that domestic e-commerce shipment volume in the first 15 days of January soared 14 percent year-on-year, as people avoided crowed areas and physical shops and opted to shop online instead.

Chief marketing officer of e-commerce platform JD Central Thailand Rvisra Chirathivat agreed that shipments from China have been hit with a delay due to the virus outbreak. He said if the company’s customers cannot wait, JD Central will fully refund buyers, or if customers are willing to wait, it will update the status of the purchase orders to ensure product delivery and minimise impact.

Chief executive of e-commerce price comparison website Priceza Thanawat Malabuppha said orders made through the system dropped 3 percent from December 2019 to January 2020.

Thanawat, also president of the Thai E-commerce Association, said he could not confirm whether the drop was caused by the virus as the situation may be due to economic stagnation./.