Hello clients, partners, friends,
I would like to take an opportunity to provide an update on Rush Order’s operations during this difficult time.
As of this writing on March 20th, 2020, Rush Order is operating at full capacity worldwide. Santa Clara County and most of the SF Bay Area issued an Order to shelter in place, effective 12:01 AM PST on March 17th.
This Order was followed soon after by similar Orders from the State of California and the State of New York. Rush Order is exempt from these orders as an essential business. For example, The Santa Clara County order includes an exemption for “Businesses providing mailing and shipping services, including post office boxes”. California has a call out for “Mailing services” and New York specifically calls out “Distribution and fulfillment”.
As a result, we expect both our California and New York operations to be open for business as we move forward through this crisis. Again, Rush Order’s operations in Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia are all operating at full capacity as well.
In related news, our aggregate order volume across our diverse client base remains strong. Supply chain constraints in China are an ongoing concern, but not a huge impact on our business yet. We are benefiting from eCommerce demand across a wide variety of product categories. We do expect some decline in business activity, just not exactly sure when.
Most importantly, we are taking a wide array of precautions to prevent our employees from getting sick as they continue to come to work. These efforts are all-consuming of my time and others’ time at Rush Order.
Some precautions are obvious like creating sanitized working conditions and requiring eligible employees to work from home.
Beginning the week of March 16th, we split warehouse staff into newly created shifts to limit exposure and limit the impact to operations if any single employee falls ill. This schedule also accommodates employees’ child care situations. It is a large matrix filled with unique constraints, but we are working through it and feel good about where we currently stand.
In a potential worst-case scenario, we have two alternative physical warehouse sites lined up in Gilroy where small batches of US-based inventory can be moved and temporarily handled and shipped by employees who are not (yet) ill. If necessary, this will be a tight rope act to manage, but it is feasible to execute. We do not know what the odds of enacting this contingency are, but we are treating it as a serious potential need.
Rush Order’s operations are also dependant on the ability of shipping carriers (e.g. UPS, FedEx, USPS, DPD, etc.) to pick up and move shipments, of course. This is a major potential concern.
There are a lot more details in the works. Some of this planning is premature and I hope it goes to waste. Our fingers are crossed. In any event, our primary goals are to keep employees healthy and keep orders moving, hopefully through the worst of possible scenarios we can imagine.
I hope these comments help with your planning. We will continue to provide updates whenever the situation materially changes. We are committed to transparency and proactive communication to help you navigate through this difficult time.
We wish you and your family, friends, and colleagues all the best.
Regards,
Dana Madlem
Vice President, Services
Rush Order