Dear Kubrakelly,
There are packages in the air coming to us with the oldest ordered brass/bronze/copper parts.
They just are taking a lot longer than expected.
We decided to wait for the arrival of them before opening up the metals again.
According to the official UPS contact, we can expect and inspect them tomorrow or the day after.
Shipping to Germany is not having a delay.
Regards,
Wim
Since weāre on the topic @wim.verstraeten, I was under the impression that the complete production of iMaterialise was made at the Belgian HQ, especially (precious) metals.
You write that the parts or on the way with a courier and need (quality) inspection first. In what country do you produce silver and gold?
What materials exactly are being made in Belgium?
So there is a chance to open Cast Metal (Brass, Bronze) immediately after the inspection take place?
Nikos
Thats what I asked too, but he didnāt answer. If theres no problem in the european borders, you could open it up for european customers instead of taking it down worldwide.
I created new designs and world like to check the cost and prices before I upload them, so I can adjust the models. I hope this will not affect the old prices for plated brass materialsā¦
I agree! Itās not clear at the moment where the problem lies:
A lot more transparency would be great. I do understand delays occur at this time and it is difficult to give a timeframe, but open communication goes a very long way!
Update 3
Hi everyone,
Let me try to answer some of the questions above :
Not all production sites reside in Europe.
The one for precious metal orders lies in Asia.
All orders are shipped to Belgium as Belgium functions as a hub and part inspection center.
Let me try to reconstruct the facts of what happened :
Due to the lockdown, the factory was closed but we kept on accepting orders as we thought it was going to be lifted after the announced period.
As the lockdown was extended, the backlog piled up, still we kept on accepting orders but with longer lead times.
With the end of the lockdown in sight, the factory resumed at limited capacity.
Then the lockdown was extended again.
Meanwhile we had produced some of the orders and brought this to the shipper.
The shipper informed they only accepted brass/bronze/copper, no silver/ no gold as they couldnāt get silver and gold cleared.
The packages with b/b/c we shipped, took a very long time and the tracker showed no progress.
So we considered them lost.
At that point, we stopped accepting orders.
Today, we still did not get the initially sent packages but the shipper indicates they are not lost but have a huge delay.
Last Monday, the shipper informed the arrival of the packages in their German hub, today , that seems to be incorrect info.
Last Monday, we tried another shipper for some of the silver and gold parts. This shipper promised they could clear it. That package is also in the process of getting to the Belgian hub.
The next update will be on Friday as this is the next promised delivery date of the first package.
And as soon as we get it, we will reopen brass/bronze/copper.
Opening silver and gold will also be evaluated on Friday.
Hope this clarifies it a bit better.
Kind regards,
Wim
Thank you Wim, for the complete explanation, this clarifies a lot!
Letās all hope everything can move forward and governments donāt need to push lockdowns anymore since the long fallout and damage it has on many businesses and the economy. This of course, is completely out of your control and a learning curve for everyone.
Update 4
Hi everyone,
Today we received since long a new package with brass, bronze and copper parts !
The parts were checked and will go out today.
Next monday, another shipment is expected.
Soā¦I am happy to finally announce that brass, bronze and copper are again available for ordering !
As the transit time from the production site to the hub is now an unknown factor, the displayed lead time is longer than usual.
The first part of next week, I will give a new update, especially about silver and gold.
Kind regards,
Wim
Hello,
Do the estimate ship dates for Brass (gold plated) are valid? or the delay may be even longer?
Thank you
Are there any news about when Silver 925 will be available again?
Hi ramosnikolaos,
about the delay for Brass gold plated : the shipment delay stays hard to predict. We have found a path to persons that can push the order after a delay is recognized. The recent package we received yesterday had a smaller delay that the first package we got. So I cannot give a clear answer to your question. The delay can be longer or shorter, no consistency seen yet.
About your question upon Silver : I cannot answer this yet as I am waiting for additional info.
Regards,
Wim
Thank you for the reply.
Please inform us when these times regarding transit times become more stable.
And of course if there is change regarding Gold and Silver.
Regards,
Nikos
Hi Wim,
Do you know where individual orders stand in the /production/shipping line? Is there any way to find out on an individual level where things stand?
What exactly is responsible for the shipping problems? Are there export embargoes on precious metals from ??? that cause customs to intervene? The work Iāve received has been great, and I was going to ramp up production, but I would like to understand the supply chain issues better. Thanks.
Hi registrar,
We do know which part is in which production state.
We choose not to communicate about it in detail as from experience in the past it lead to worries that the part would not be in time where it was on schedule. That is why we have chosen to show only the more general states.
The biggest delay is between handing the package to the shipper and receiving it. From the tracking history we are able to conclude that the delay is at the country of production. Once the package is in Europe, all timings are predictable.
Hi Wim. Good to know. I understand where you are coming from w/ regard to that information causing undue worry; but I would counter that the status I have seen on my orders for the last couple of months (āIn Productionā) has done just the opposite - given me a false sense of hope. Personally, I would vote for more information about my order status than just āIn Productionā. Model received, model verified, model printed, model finishing complete, model received by HQ, model shipped to customer (w/ tracking number). Or something like that. I have to get things to customers, and when I canāt, I need to explain what is happening. I also need to make decisions about how to resolve delays. I do prefer i.Materialise, but if time is of the essence, I might accept using someone else. I canāt make those decisions without information.
I am still wondering what the cause of these shipping delays is. Are there export restrictions? If so, why? Is it a trade war thing, a virus thing, something else? I really donāt want to do my own manufacturing, but itās something I need to consider if I canāt understand what is going on, or if it becomes clear that there are underlying issues that we canāt expect to resolve soon.
Obviously these are strange times, and nothing is normal right now. I understand. Donāt worry - Iām not angry or anything. I really like what you do. Iām just trying to navigate my way through this the best I can, like everyone else. Thanks much.
@registrar, international borders (especially with Asia) are still closed due to COVID-19. Goods can be shipped/exported, but there are still massive delays on international shipping due to limited staff everywhere in combination with high volume shipments.
This is still a global issue, not something iMaterialise only experiences.
In Wimās long post you can read all about the (other) particular problems iMaterialise encountered.
Hello again,
do we know when there might be a new update, or is the uncertainty on the supplier side too big at the moment?
Dear Hermann,
Silver and gold reopening is still under consideration.
We are expecting tomorrow/thursday a new batch of silver and gold.
If that shipment arrives on time or with an acceptable delay, we can open silver and gold again this weekend.
Regards,
Wim
On the edge of my seat about the silverā¦ Fingers crossedā¦