Amazon stocks up on Chinese products as coronavirus disrupts supplies

As the coronavirus outbreak in China continues to plague local manufacturing businesses, the world’s largest online marketplace is taking precautions.

Amazon placed off-cycle orders with some of its suppliers last week to increase inventory of Chinese-made products as it “prepare[s] for possible supply chain disruptions due to recent global events originating in China,” according to an internal email obtained by Business Insider.

The news comes after Amazon told Reuters in the same week that its operation has not been interrupted by the virus that has lead to the deaths of more than 1,000 people and infected upwards of 43,000.

Since then, Amazon has confirmed that the order was a cautionary move.

At least 40 percent of sellers on Amazon’s U.S. marketplace are based in China. But many Chinese factories have been unable to resume production after the Lunar New Year holidays, as workers across China have been unable or unwilling to return to work due to travel restrictions and local law enforcement practices. Manufacturers, too, have struggled to reach suppliers and provide face masks for workers according to national mandates.

Anticipating shortages, Amazon has been placing orders with first-party suppliers to stock up on several weeks of supply for Chinese products— even offering suppliers extra shipping time and “proactively waiving” late-shipment fees for them.

To “ensure shopper experience and seller account performance,” Amazon also published advice on its Chinese website Saturday for third-party sellers bracing for the market impact of the coronavirus outbreak.