Crowdfunding and e-commerce supply chain issues: here’s how to navigate the latest crisis

The world is going through a major supply chain and logistics setback as a result of the sudden rebound of demand for goods. Will this bottleneck affect your campaign launch? Here's how you can still launch your crowdfunding campaign successfully.

From cars to everyday products, the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc in supply chain issues this year. Now, more and more countries are getting back to normalcy with vaccination. But the supply chain and logistics industry faces bottlenecks because of a rapid rebound in demand for goods.

Due to this situation, ports are congested. And this has resulted in soaring shipping prices of commodities. In fact, companies wanting to move goods around are struggling because there just aren’t enough ships or containers available. In the meantime, prices of everyday goods are going up for consumers.

This supply chain shortage has resulted in the lack of an important piece of technical equipment that is used in almost every tech product: semiconductors. Lead times for many semiconductors are a year right now, and these devices are in just about everything we use.

In fact, it’s not just car makers who are in trouble with the semiconductor chip shortage. It’s expected to cause widespread shortages in every sector, from electronics to medical devices to technology and networking equipment.

Additionally, the disruption to global supply chains is also predicted to get worse ahead of the holidays. This prediction is spurring shortages of some products, delays, and higher prices for consumers. The supply chain bottlenecks can also lead to major product crises. And this is causing many people to not get the latest tech devices and Christmas gifts on time this year.

Now, with such a supply chain and logistics issue causing bottlenecks, it’s tough to imagine launching a crowdfunding campaign or marketing your e-commerce business with overseas fulfillment commitments. But does this mean you should put your campaign on hold until things are back on track? Absolutely not.

You can still continue planning your campaign and working with experts, an agency, and your team while waiting on the supply chain and logistics issue to be resolved.

How to navigate the supply chain crisis

1. Create a wait list

Modify your website and create a wait list of people subscribing to your newsletter. So you can notify them as soon as your product becomes available. This will not just help your subscribers be aware of the fulfillment timing but also enhance your credibility. That’s because you’ll be directly communicating with backers even after delaying your product delivery dates.

Make sure to have an estimated restock date as part of your product page. This way, potential customers can get an idea of when they should expect to place their orders.

2. Keep taking orders, offering discounts, and mentioning shipping delays

If you operate an e-commerce store, I recommend not marking your product as sold out like most businesses do. Instead, keep selling your product at a discounted price—depending on your profit margins—and notify your customers of potential shipping delays.

By mentioning shipping delays on your crowdfunding campaign page, you’ll be maintaining transparency without risking your campaign’s success. We’ve often seen creators not respond to queries on time. This affects their campaign’s overall credibility and its success in the long run.

If you are launching a crowdfunding campaign in the next few weeks, make sure to have a clear statement regarding the global supply chain interruptions and extend the delivery time. You must consider going with the worst case scenario and try to overdeliver instead of underdelivering and facing delays.

3. Let Gadget Flow help

We work with hundreds of customers every month, promoting their products to our community. Our goal has always been to help companies of all sizes—crowdfunding campaigns and e-commerce businesses alike—thrive.

If you decide to work with one of our marketing plans, know that our policies allow you to pause the promotions at any time. Your product may go out of stock, and you may wish to stop taking orders. In that case, we can easily pause the promotions until you have your inventory.

Global supply chain issues should not stop you from launching your product. Instead, you must keep learning more about the progress and how things are being handled to get the supply chain on track. In the meantime, you can easily keep up with your campaign planning and launch without losing out on your dream project idea.