How to Prepare Chinese New Year Factory Shutdowns: A Quick Guide

Chinese New Year is one of the biggest and most celebrated times of the year. This public holiday is a big deal not only to mainland China but also in neighboring countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, North Korea, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Brunei.

Each year, the Chinese Zodiac changes. 2024 will be the year of the Dragon, and Chinese New Year 2024 will start on Saturday, February 10th.

Holidays in China for 2024. Please note that these are the dates for ODM Group companies in the region.

For most factory workers, this is the only time of the year when they see their families. Not to mention the long journey they have to make before reaching their homes, primarily from the remote and rural areas of this vast country. Consequently, it causes them to leave way before the holiday officially begins.

One of the major dilemmas is factory shutdowns. If your company is outsourcing products from China, you are probably familiar with Chinese New Year shutdowns. Apparently, the grandest festival can definitely impact global supply chains, including your business.

Fret not! Let us help you set up your game plan for the upcoming holiday.

What Are The Freight Issues During Chinese New Year?

One of the busiest seasons of the year, the holiday comes with industry issues that can impact businesses. Here are some of them:

• The pandemic has caused more complications in the preparations for the Chinese New Year.
• Factories currently have a limited number of workers, mainly due to travel restrictions.
• The pandemic has made moving and managing materials more challenging.
• It takes a longer time required to process quotation requests.
• It will cause halted production as workers may request a longer period of leave to spend additional time with their families.
• A minimal workforce can delay the processing and shipment of products and materials.
• The freight rate probably increases during the Chinese New Year period.

Planning Ahead for Chinese New Year 2024

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Don’t let your business be way off the mark this coming CNY. Aside from the Chinese New Year factory dates, here are a few suggestions that will keep you ahead:

1. Setting Up Your Game Plan

Planning for the upcoming public holiday this early can bring you surprising advantages and save you from the predicament.

Some things that you can plan out include but are not limited to:

• Budget
• Inventory Needs
• Colour Branding
• Promotional Products
• Product Design

2. Communicate With Your Suppliers

Communicating effectively and considering your supplier’s/ manufacturer’s opinion can help you understand the situation clearly and plan better.

It’s a good idea to talk with them openly about potential problems that may occur and develop a trusting relationship with them.

Done right, you can work together to find ways to effectively overcome those obstacles.

3. Speculate Inventory Needs and Plan Orders in Advance

If you’re able to speculate your inventory needs for the coming months, then make sure that you will be over-prepared for the coming holiday.

It’s best to guarantee that you don’t run out of the important stuff and that the seasonal ones arrive in time for their associated holiday.

Plan orders in advance so you can prevent encountering any shipment delay or issue with your receiving end.

4. Implement Quality Management

One of the unavoidable facts about CNY is that employees simply don’t come back to work.

They find this season as a way to switch careers, thus affecting you and your business.

Due to these circumstances, you have to implement strict and keen quality issues coming from your manufacturer.

It makes the manufacturing inspection plan a top priority.

5. Seek Assistance from Third Parties

Some countries in Asia, including Vietnam, also take time off to celebrate the new year. But unlike in China, none of them takes long vacations.

You may check with your other suppliers if you could ask for their assistance while your connections in China are in the shutdown period. In that case, you can still continue your business operation during CNY.

If you are seeking a procurement partner for the Chinese New Year 2024, the ODM Group could be your best option. We have a long relationship with our suppliers worldwide, thus we can help you address your production concerns.

Introducing Our  Dragon Socks

The Dragon is one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, each of which has its own personality traits. People born in this year are said to be clever, witty and gifted with good fortune. Our socks feature our iconic character for 2024 – Dylan, the Dragon!

Our Year of the Dragon socks are a great way to stand out from the crowd and make an impact on your target audiences this coming new year!

Plan Ahead For Other Chinese Holidays

Chinese New Year may be the most significant holiday, but other Chinese holidays could affect your business. Make sure to check them out below.

February – Lunar New Year

April – Qing Ming Festival

May – Labour Day

June – Dragon Boat Festival

September – Mid-Autumn Festival 

October – The Golden Week 

If you are interested to learn more about the manufacturing process in China, you might love to read through this case study.

From the struggles of entering the Asian Supply Chain, the reasons why you should consider manufacturing in Asia and how can we help you in the entire process will be tackled here.

Tet Festival: The Vietnamese New Year

Tet Nguyen Dan is the most important and widely celebrated public festival of the year in Vietnam. It is the occasion for Vietnamese to express their respects to ancestors as well as welcome the Lunar New Year with their friends and family members.

Tet falls on the first night of the new moon in the first month of the Lunar Calendar, which in the Gregorian calendar usually takes place between the last week of January and the third week of February.

For the year 2023, Tet will also fall on Sunday, January 22nd. Though as there is a one-hour time difference between Vietnam and China, this can sometimes cause alternate calculations of when the new moon occurs.

Since the majority of our staff are now headquartered in Vietnam, we would also like you to be aware of this holiday. It is important to take note that most of the country will close down for Tet.

The local transport services are stretched to the limit and international flights will be very busy catering to Vietnamese people returning home from overseas for Tet. This means that it will also be a critical time for retailers and manufacturers, thus you should also plan ahead of time if you are sourcing products from the country.

Here’s an insightful blog about our recent visit to one of the manufacturing factories in Vietnam. In this trip down, we see the significance of industrial factory tours and quality control checks to more readily oversee product creation and client satisfaction.

All you need to know about Chinese New Year!

Get In Touch With Our Team!

It’s never too early to start planning for China’s biggest holiday! If you are interested in producing promotional products for the Chinese New Year 2023, feel free to contact our staff.

With extensive years of experience, we can definitely help plan, design and manufacture products that would fit your marketing campaign.

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