As you have probably started to see with personal parcels and other shipments, the holiday crunch in the US is already beginning. Unfortunately, coffee pallets and samples are not exempt from the challenges this time of year during a pandemic poses. We haven’t even carved pumpkins yet and we’re finding we need to factor in longer than normal delays when getting delicious coffee to you.
Hang in there! A few minor adjustments to your normal order flow will help you and your company navigate these unprecedented times…
What’s happening:
Ongoing industry-wide employee shortages compounded by the pandemic have created unique challenges in the coffee world. We are currently experiencing domestic shipping delays across the US, and with the holidays just around the corner — we do not anticipate it getting any better.
Due to the pandemic, e-commerce has seen a huge rise which has filled up shipping capacity both domestically and abroad. Carriers are struggling to keep up as many are short-staffed, resulting in a truck shortage across the nation. This employee and truck shortage has created a backlog at many carrier terminals, causing up to weeklong delays (or more).
Our primary goal has always been delivering your coffee to you as quickly and safely as we can, but we want to be transparent with you about how these current logistics issues may interfere with your business.
What you can do:
We strongly encourage you to add an additional 2-3 days to your freight and sample shipping schedule from now until mid-January as we head into the holiday season. This simple proactive shift has the potential to make a big difference in making sure that we can work with our freight partners to make sure you have the coffees you need, by the time that you need them. We will always work with you to find the best carrier options that suit your needs as we keep you abreast of the situation.
Staying ahead of things is the name of the game here. We are always a phone call away to help you figure out what timeline is best to get tasty coffee in your hands without causing any delays for your customers.
-The Cafe Imports Team