Perfect Storm!

[FLO]

This post is essentially an update to one made earlier this month. 

Demand for astronomy equipment during the pandemic is very high. Higher even than Christmas! But whilst China have reopened, manufacturers are struggling with high demand, materials shortages and reduced shipping channels. A perfect storm! 

In an attempt to stay on top of the situation 'everyone' at FLO is working overtime. My own working day starts at 5am, seven days a week, and has done for a while. We have also employed two extra full-time people in dispatch (Nathan & Dan) and another full-time person (Alex) for the Helpdesk. 

Our biggest challenge is how to keep our websites stock availability indicators up-to-date and our customers informed during such a turbulent time. Doing this for Sky-Watcher products is especially difficult. 

We source most products direct from the manufacturer and hold stock at our warehouse but in Europe retailers must source Sky-Watcher products through a distributor. All communications to/from Synta (Sky-Watcher) are through a distributor. The distributor closed when the lockdown began then reopened with reduced staff. They are working hard in difficult circumstances to catch up but are only now finding how many products sold while they were closed and how little is coming out of China. It has not been possible for them to keep us regularly updated. 

Normally we practice a duck-on-water approach (calm on the surface while paddling like crazy underneath!) but we are past that. We are predicting it will take China 3-4 months to catch up so I think it important we share this with you (this situation affects all astronomy retailers) and ask you to please continue being patient until supply has caught up with demand. 

On a positive note. Interest in astronomy is at an all-time high and FLO has never been in such good health with a warehouse full to bursting and more staff than you can shake a stick at. 

Thank-you sincerely for your patience and understanding during these extraordinary times. 

Alex, Annette, Ann, Dan, Grant, Ian, James, Katie, Lisa, Martin, Nathan, Rob & Steve 🙂

[johninderby]

I’m guessing that the slowdown in Chinese production will go on for quite a while. Was looking at a Bresser scope  on a German dealers site and they are giving 01/01/21 fpr availability. 🙀

[Paul M]

I never said a word! I'm patiently waiting for my new cameras with childish excitement!

So long as I'm getting nearer the top of the queue 😎

[barkis]

Flo will weather this storm, she's making all the right moves, and quite unthinkable to think otherwise.  Stay strong Flo people. All will soon be calmer. 👍

Ron.

[andrew s]

Mark you it's a much better problem to have than sales at zero and laying off staff.

FLO have shown that when mistakes get made they fix them which is all you can ask when they are under pressure. 

Regards Andrew 

[ollypenrice]

This is really great news when you think about it. Any good news is quadruple good at the moment. Congratulations on such a positive post at a time when it's needed. Just take care with that working week, Steve. Nobody is indestructible.

FLO deserves to succeed. All that positive feedback has real origins.

Olly

[JamesF]

1 hour ago, ollypenrice said:

Just take care with that working week, Steve. Nobody is indestructible.

Very true.  It's sustainable for a while, but beyond that it's really not good for one's health, neither mental nor physical.

James

[F15Rules]

3 hours ago, FLO said:

Alex, Annette, Ann, Dan, Grant, Ian, James, Katie, Lisa, Martin, Nathan, Rob & Steve

If you take on many more staff, Steve, you will have to extend your signature list to more than 3 three lines..

...that will please those SGLers who have bought (and are still buying!) loads of kit from you - they'll also need the extra Sig lines to list it all!😂.

Seriously, thanks for all the hard graft you and your team put in to offer such a great online store - and this wonderful community forum.

Dave

[HollyHound]

Many thanks to @FLO for all their efforts over the last months. Every order I’ve made has been dealt with super quickly along with any questions 😊

Cheers to you all and good luck 🤞

[Tim]

Hope everyone at FLO is OK and able to continue. Seems like FLO has something in common with garden centres, we have been flat out, non stop, and getting supplies of anything is tricky, and a lot of distribution drivers are still furloughed. It is a peculiarly frustrating situation to have an eager market and being unable to supply it.

Good to know that there is raised interest in astronomy though, I can't wait until I have enough energy left at the end of a day to actually use my observatory, I had fully intended to provide friends with youngsters with educational live zoom sessions making the most of those beautiful clear skies we had, but was just too busy. The Beatles sang about 8 days a week.....pffffft, part timers!

Stay safe and as busy as you can

Tim  

[kirkster501]

Yep, I've got a shopping list for quite a few bits at the minute and there's no stock anywhere.  It can wait and it's a first world problem I'd suggest and very minor in comparison with the current craziness in the world.  

Hope it's not impacting your business unduly, not being able to sell anything, because there's nothing on the shelf to sell ......

[Ant]

I've ordered a number of things from FLO in recent weeks, all the orders have come through roughly within the dates suggested when I ordered.

Some next day, some in a few days and some in a few weeks. Thanks for still being open and working.

Stay safe guys and girls.

Ant

[DaveS]

Hopefully, with the raised interest in astronomy, more people will become aware of the horror of light pollution and will kick up a stink. Might get something done about it.

[johninderby]

Maybe ESA can help with Starlink? 🤔

https://www.esa.int/Safety_Security/Clean_Space/ESA_commissions_world_s_first_space_debris_removal

Edited July 8, 2020 by johninderby

[fozzybear]

excellent service from Flo item ordered and lead time shipped 40-60 working days.  Lo and behold received in 7 days door to door excellent service. 💗

[gilesco]

On 08/07/2020 at 23:20, fozzybear said:

excellent service from Flo item ordered and lead time shipped 40-60 working days.  Lo and behold received in 7 days door to door excellent service. 💗

I have an open order for an item that includes an Esprit 120 Pro, which shows as 40-60 working days lead time, may be this gives me some hope!!!

[cathalferris]

The supply chain problems are painful enough, but it could always be worse. I have an open order with Teleskop Service for a replacement OTA tube from a 130mm apo. The tube was ordered in September 2019, and still has no visibility of having been built and shipped from China, it had a lead time of 6 months from last September..

(a cat knocked the OTA over when I had it objective down temporarily, landing on the focuser wheel, and the main tube <-> focuser adapter jumped two threads and effectively cold-welded the two components together. An engineering shop couldn't unscrew them, so only a replacement of the OTA main tube and that adapter could work. At least it would appear that the objective and focuser didn't get jarred too much. Been waiting now for well over a year to get that scope up and running, and Mars looks lovely right now..)

 

[gilesco]

4 minutes ago, cathalferris said:

The supply chain problems are painful enough, but it could always be worse. I have an open order with Teleskop Service for a replacement OTA tube from a 130mm apo. The tube was ordered in September 2019, and still has no visibility of having been built and shipped from China, it had a lead time of 6 months from last September..

(a cat knocked the OTA over when I had it objective down temporarily, landing on the focuser wheel, and the main tube <-> focuser adapter jumped two threads and effectively cold-welded the two components together. An engineering shop couldn't unscrew them, so only a replacement of the OTA main tube and that adapter could work. At least it would appear that the objective and focuser didn't get jarred too much. Been waiting now for well over a year to get that scope up and running, and Mars looks lovely right now..)

 

Goodness - that's some wait - I hope you have some other scopes to use in the meantime?

I'm still waiting for my Esprit 120... mid-October was the most recent estimate when I enquired. Patience... patience... still playing with my achromatic though trying some narrowband stuff out.

[cathalferris]

Oh I have a small stable of scopes as per my signature, the most commonly used one of late is the CPC800 that I resurrected from dead, that has corrosion on the tube and replacement mount PCBs due to water damage. About as grab and go as I need at the moment, optics are good enough in it. My 12" dob is in storage, and I have an 8" newt that comes out every so often. 

I'm not stuck for optical devices, just waiting on that replacement tube. 

[Jiggy 67]

FLO must be tearing their hair out at the moment. I have about 8 items on my wishlist at FLO. Had a look before and 6 of them were out of stock!!..the remaining two had limited availability of only two or three in stock. Obviously I’m not blaming FLO it must be like trying to swim upstream through white water at the moment