As China remains in self-imposed quarantine, we look at the impacts that may ripple through the office imaging industry.
As of this morning, China remains in a state of self-imposed quarantine as the Chinese government works to tackle the Coronavirus. This expected to remain in place at least until the 9th February when the Chinese authorities will conduct their next review.
In addition to the above measures, Zhuhai has required bars, cafes, barbecue joints, teahouses and farms in some areas to suspend business indefinitely, while other food and beverage sellers are restricted to providing takeout services.
David Gibbons, Editor and Publisher of Zhuhai based Recycling Times reports on his Facebook page: “The once busy city of Zhuhai in southern China is locked down as is the rest of China. Streets are totally empty of vehicles and people.”
Supply chain issues in some sectors are already taking effect with auto manufacturer Hyundai stopping production in south Korea as parts shipments from China dry up. Just in time (JIT) manufacturers will be the first to feel the impacts. For the office imaging sector things are still very early from a logistics and supply chain perspective.
Ian Copsey, Ian Copsey, General Manager at Wuhan based Hubei Dinglong confirmed that they have sufficient inventory at their Rotterdam logistics centre to last for approximately 3-4 months based on historic order patterns.
Apex, Ninestar, Aster, Speed Infotech and all the major producers of parts and finished consumables that are based in China have global distribution models and are holding around three months stock in their regional logistics hubs and it is a similar picture in the OEM channels.
The Ricoh Group has 16 subsidiaries in China and has established an Emergency Management Team to actively monitor situation but expects operations to resume on 10th February. Ricoh are postponing business trips in all areas of China for the foreseeable future.
Travel restrictions to and from China are in effect is several countries and across the industry travel plans to China are on hold and vice versa for China based companies.
Editor’s Opinion: From a supply chain perspective it is business as usual for the time being, but that might change if there is a sustained outbreak of the virus.
