The coronavirus impacts have been in the headlines for a while, but now the stock market and currency exchange is starting to reflect the true cost to businesses. Unfortunately, my start-up is not immune either.
It’s taken three weeks to get a quote from an Australian freight forwarder to allow me to ship the packaging material that I need for the hotel pilot. They told me that they were inundated with requests from government for supplies like face masks that had to take priority.
Furthermore, since there are less flights in operation, more supplies are being set via ships. So, space is limited. I’m really running tight on my deadline.
The falling Australian dollar is also killing me as all Chinese prices are quoted in US dollars.
Fortunately, I did find a supply of the exact tins I needed already in Australia, but for about twice the price. I went ahead and bought as many as they would allow me to make sure that we can hit our order deadlines. Whew!
It will be really tight to see if we have the pre-printed tins in time, but at this stage, I will pay whatever price necessary to make sure that we meet our promises to our very first hotel customer despite the impacts to my bottom line.
How the coronavirus impacts my travel industry customers and future contracts will have to be considered in about a month’s time. Right now, I just have to get through the pilot.
