Year-End Rush Is Not About Speed. It’s About Timing.
Year-End Rush Is Not About Speed. It’s About Timing.
Every year, close to Chinese New Year, many Chinese suppliers face the same headache: time pressure from both sides.
On the customer side in Europe and the US, Christmas and New Year holidays are long. Many clients come back to office only in early January, some even mid-January. After almost one month off, decisions are slower than usual. Emails wait. Internal approvals wait. PO confirmation takes time.
On the China side, the clock is ticking much faster.
Chinese New Year is usually mid-February. But in reality, many workers leave factories already by late January. The closer it gets to February, the fewer workers stay. Production speed drops, capacity becomes tight, overtime cost increases. Logistics rates go up. Customs handling becomes slower and more expensive.
For suppliers, this is the hardest period of the year.
So we are stuck in the middle:
slow confirmation from overseas clients,
fast shutdown from production-part.
And suppliers are the ones feeling the pressure most.
Many orders confirmed at the end of January will be postponed to process and deliver in March or later.
This situation is not new. It repeats every year. But many companies still treat it as “bad luck” instead of a structural timing problem.
From my experience, here are some practical ways to change this situation — not perfectly, but realistically.
- Move the discussion earlier, not the order You may not get PO in December, but you can get clarity. Confirm the details such as specifications, quantities, colors, packaging, lead time — everything that does not need accounting approval. When client comes back from holiday, you only wait for one “yes”, not a full discussion.
- Be honest about Chinese New Year impact (earlier) Many buyers still underestimate CNY. Don’t scare them, but explain clearly: – worker leave schedule – last safe production date – last shipping window To let your business partners understand it clearly, better than push for urgent reply or confirm.
- Accept that some orders will miss, and plan for it Not every order can be saved. Good sales planning is not about saving all orders, but knowing which ones are realistic before CNY and which ones should be pushed to after holiday.
The year-end rush is not about working harder.
It’s about understanding two very different calendars, cultures, and rhythms — and managing expectations between them.
When timing is right, pressure goes down.
When timing is wrong, even good prices and good factories cannot help.
If you do export business from China, you know this feeling.
Every year.
Do you have any good ideas to this situation, are more than welcome to share.
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