A note from our Team
It's been a busy month behind the scenes here! Between prepping for the EU customs changes, laying the groundwork for our upcoming survey, and starting to think ahead to peak season, the summer lull definitely didn't apply to us this year.
It feels like the wider e-commerce world has had the same energy. There is plenty of change and noise across marketplaces, couriers, and regulations, all landing at once. If things have felt a bit relentless on your end too, you're not alone!
As always, thank you for bearing with us through the changes, and for the continued feedback that helps us build a better platform for you. We hope you've managed to grab some downtime this summer despite it all, and we look forward to sharing with you some of our upcoming plans for the final part of this year!
- Matthew Taylor, Head of Technical Support | ChannelGrabber
Peak Season Prep Countdown!
It might only be August, but Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the Christmas trading period are closer than they look. Many of you will be starting prep for the upcoming busy months.
A few things worth thinking about over the coming weeks:
Stock and supplier lead times
Check in with your suppliers now on lead times and minimum order quantities, especially for anything shipping from overseas. Freight and production slots book up fast as peak approaches.Courier peak surcharges.
Most couriers publish their peak season surcharge schedules and revised cut-off dates around this time of year. Keep an eye out for these from your carriers so you can factor them into pricing and customer messaging.Listing and channel readiness.
Now's a good time to review your listings across channels (titles, images, stock levels, pricing) so everything is peak-ready before the seasonal rush of traffic hits.
EU Customs: 1st November Deadline
A reminder that the new EU customs requirements become mandatory from 1st November.
From this date, customs will require manufacturer IDs, standardised barcodes, and handling fees data alongside the information already being provided, along with a flat duty fee per item type (grouped by HS Commodity code) for goods shipped into the EU.
What we are doing:
Our development team is hard at work updating our courier integrations to support these changes ahead of the deadline. This work is already well underway on our Royal Mail (OBA) integration, and we will be making similar changes to our other couriers as soon as they have provided the relevant information we need.
What you need to do:
Please don't leave this until the last minute. Take some time now to go through your product data and make sure the following are accurate and up to date for anything you ship into the EU:
Barcodes (EAN / UPC / ISBNs)
HS (Harmonised System) Commodity Codes
Country of Origin
Manufacturer IDs (MPNs)
Getting this sorted now will save a scramble in October, and issues shipping come November first. We're here to help if you need it (see below).
Bulk Data Support
We know that reviewing and updating product data across a large catalogue, especially with so many incoming changes, can be a big task. To help, we can run bulk scripts and processes on your behalf to speed this up, including:
Bulk imports to update product data, such as: barcodes, suppliers, picking locations, and more.
Bulk deletion of product and listing data (to help clear out old, unwanted data).
Identifying stock discrepancies and unprocessed orders, as well as clearing any held stock from said orders.
Assistance with running reports, such as: best-selling items for a given time period, channel, and more!
If any of the above would help you get ahead, please get in touch with our Support Team and we can talk through what we can do for your account.
Help Shape the Future of ChannelGrabber
Later this month, we'll be sending out a survey to ChannelGrabber customers to find out what matters most to you: the features you rely on, the gaps you'd like us to fill, and the changes that would make the biggest difference to how you work day to day.
We're planning a significant modernisation of the ChannelGrabber platform, with new features and improvements planned for rollout by the end of the year, and your feedback will directly shape what we prioritise.
Keep an eye out for the survey landing in your inbox. It won't take long to complete, and every response helps us build a better platform for you!
