In 2023, Amazon Business's yearly revenues surpassed $35 billion. Here are the details and operation of it.
Amazon has been developing Amazon.com for the past 25 years. It currently provides a large assortment of items at affordable costs to over 300 million active clients. You may be one of them.
However, various clients have different requirements.
It has long been recognized by Amazon that companies and organizations were using its marketplace to buy office supplies and other items in quantity. In order to further assist them, the business introduced Amazon Business in 2015.
The consumer is at the center of everything we do at Amazon, and vice president of Worldwide Amazon Business Alexandre Gagnon, a 20-year Amazon veteran, stated, “We kept asking ourselves
How can we better serve those business customers?
The procurement industry is open to new ideas. We have modified the infrastructure, technology, scale, and experience we have amassed at Amazon to suit companies and organizations of different kinds. Since then, Amazon Business has grown at one of the quickest rates in the company’s history. In 2023, its yearly revenues totaled $35 billion.
“I’ve been excited about Amazon Business since its launch,” said Doug Herrington, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Stores. The long-term prosperity of both their company and its clients is a top priority for the Amazon Business team. Every day, we examine the unique purchasing requirements of companies and organizations and devise creative solutions to provide competitive pricing, a wide range of options, and dependable, consistent ease. For their purchase, businesses and organizations require various features and tools, which Amazon Business has developed. Nevertheless, we’ll keep improving the client experience since we know that’s not good enough.
Currently, over 6 million users purchase products on Amazon Business. This covers both huge corporations and organizations as well as small and medium-sized businesses, such as the family-run Red River Brewing Company in New Mexico. Amazon Business is used by 96 Fortune 100 firms, such as Intel and Citi, as well as US federal organizations including the U.S. Air Force and the state of Utah, as well as institutions like Johns Hopkins University, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and the United Service Organizations.
“Amazon Business is continuously innovating on behalf of its customers—working on integrations and solutions that reduce overhead and manual processes, and increase procurement efficiency,” Gagnon said. “Amazon Business provides interfaces, including Coupa, with over 100 distinct ERP, payment, and procurement systems. For companies that don’t use an e-procurement system, we also encourage direct purchases from Amazon.com.
Even with Amazon Business’s development and expansion, the spirit of a startup with plenty of potential to grow remains. Todd Heimes, director of Amazon Business, stated that billions of dollars are spent annually on supplies and procurement by millions of small companies worldwide. Heimes remarked, “We are just getting started.” The following are some responses to often asked questions concerning Amazon Business.
An Amazon Business account may be opened by anyone.
An Amazon Business account may be opened by companies and organizations of any size, including local hair salons, multinational firms, educational institutions, hospitals, non-profits, and governmental bodies. There is no minimum spending requirement, and the account is free
How is Amazon Business operated?
With the same user-friendly and simple interface as Amazon.com, Amazon Business allows businesses of all sizes to purchase from a vast variety of hundreds of millions of products straight from the Amazon Business shop.
“All of the work we’ve done for consumers on Amazon over the last 25 years is one of the best things we have as a tailwind for Amazon Business,” Heimes stated. We provide an extensive assortment in our catalog, top-notch fulfillment services, and the wonderful customer service you’ve come to expect.It doesn’t need any training and is easy to use. We’ve included business-specific tools that enable businesses of all sizes to incorporate their procurement rules into the purchasing process, on top of the standard search, reviews, shopping cart, and other capabilities.
But what more can Amazon Business provide beyond a huge assortment, affordable rates, and ease of use?
Aster Angagaw, vice president and head of Amazon Business’s commercial, public, and strategic sector, stated, “We are so much more than a B2B store or a procurement organization.” “Amazon Business is made to be adaptable and able to serve clients of different sizes. We consistently provide scalable solutions based on the size of the customer and the vertical sector. We collaborate with our clients to address their most difficult procurementproblems by providing them with cutting-edge tools like Guided Buying and Amazon Business analytics, which are accessible to qualified Business Prime members.
“Amazon Business lets customers use a set of standards or policies to make sure that all the items they buy fit those requirements,” Heimes stated. Thus, you may declare, “I want to buy local,” “I want to buy products certified for sustainability,” or “I want to buy from suppliers who are diverse or owned by veterans.”
According to Angagaw, procurement personnel and business owners choose Amazon Business because of its comprehensive end-to-end solution, which offers tools and analytics that enable them visibility, control, and insight into purchasing, supply chain, and other operations.
The goal is to ensure that Amazon Business offers its clients freedom so they can allocate their time to the things that are most important to them. As a result, a company may make sure that funds are allocated to the appropriate areas and by the appropriate individuals inside the organization, according to the speaker. “Our teams that interact with customers work closely with the biggest companies to comprehend their particular procurement needs and develop customized solutions that best suit their needs, specifications, and particular purchasing requirements.” because of our end-to-end solution capability.”
“Smart business buying is essentially the result of our application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to the procurement space, which helps our customers buy and supply their needs in an intelligent manner, freeing them up to do what they really want to do—run their businesses,” according to Heimes.
Does Amazon provide a Prime membership program for businesses?
“Smart business buying is essentially the result of our application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to the procurement space, which helps our customers buy and supply their needs in an intelligent manner, freeing them up to do what they really want to do—run their businesses,” according to Heimes.
Indeed. Like Amazon Prime, company Prime is a well-liked subscription that offers advantages exclusive to businesses and is intended for company owners. Along with discounts and other services like Spend Visibility and Guided Buying, it offers advantages like free delivery on qualifying purchases. Benefits and pricing* options customized for different business sizes are included in the Business Prime membership.
* Prices differ in different areas.
How is Amazon Business used by customers?
According to Angagaw, Amazon Business assists both big and small clients in making the most of their current spend. However, Amazon Business may also assist them in locating goods that have received certification for sustainability or that are offered by diverse, local, and other enterprises.
“We truly give customers visibility into these purchases, control over where their money is spent,” the spokesperson stated. “If you are a teacher, you no longer have to go through many people to obtain certain books or resources for your class. You may get anything you need for your pupils by visiting the Amazon Business shop. You may really use the predeterminedbudget that is created for you to spend throughout a semester, a year, or a month—however you choose to handle it.
These advantages also result in real savings. “We make it really easy for them to save money that can be reinvested and procure at competitive prices,” Gagnon stated.
What are the advantages of Amazon Business buying for small businesses?
Hundreds of thousands of sellers compete on Amazon Business, a B2B marketplace, to provide a large assortment of goods at affordable costs together with the easy delivery experience you’ve come to expect from Amazon.
According to Heimes, “it gives small businesses and organizations the chance to cut costs and increase their efficiencies, so they can focus on running their business.” “Business customers can now enjoy all of the conveniences that we now take for granted as consumers.”
What is it about Amazon Business that draws in big clients?
According to Heimes, “digital procurement”—which includes purchasing materials via Amazon Business—is a novel idea for big businesses. According to him, big companies usually haggle and purchase from a select group of vendors. They may access hundreds of thousands of suppliers in one place with Amazon Business.
“For those large organizations, it’s a really big opportunity,” he stated.”They profit considerably from it because it renders them much more efficient, lowers costs, and optimizes their suppliers.”
We occasionally overlook all the wonderful things that Amazon.com provides to customers that are typically unheard of in the corporate sector. basic things, like being aware of the delivery schedule for your purchases. We can supply millions of products the following day, on that note,” Business clients may also obtain reasonable prices for large orders with the aid of Amazon Business.”We will gather that quote, send it out to dealers we know sell chairs, and give them the chance to bid on that order if you would like to buy 500 black chairs,” Heimes added. Our offer to meet our customer’s anticipated and significant buying demands is known as a “quote request.” Heimes stated.
Who is an Amazon Business seller?
On its shop, Amazon Business provides hundreds of millions of items. The majority of selling partners that list their products on Amazon.com are also immediately included to the Amazon Business shop.
Customers may spend their money responsibly and in ways that benefit their communities by using the Amazon Business shop. An excellent illustration of this was when a municipal government approached us and requested that their procurement expenses remain in the community in which they operate. In order to keep the money that their organizations spent inside the community, we collaborated with them to make sure that neighborhood companies were designated as preferred suppliers, according to Angagaw. “We are able to do this because we integrate certifications from the federal government or other standard-defining organizations if you are a certified small, black, veteran, or woman-owned business. We also design tools so that any business owner or procurement officer at a large entity can direct their customers to support those specific businesses.” Angagaw continued, pointing out that because of their procedures and system needs, working with small enterprises may be difficult for large corporations.
What are the advantages for varied and small enterprises of selling on Amazon Business?
Customers may spend their money responsibly and in ways that benefit their communities by using the Amazon Business shop. An excellent illustration of this was when a municipal government approached us and requested that their procurement expenses remain in the community in which they operate. In order to keep the money that their organizations spent inside the community, we collaborated with them to make sure that neighborhood companies were designated as preferred suppliers, according to Angagaw. “We are able to do this because we integrate certifications from the federal government or other standard-defining organizations if you are a certified small, black, veteran, or woman-owned business. We also design tools so that any business owner or procurement officer at a large entity can direct their customers to support those specific businesses.” Angagaw continued, pointing out that because of their procedures and system needs, working with small enterprises may be difficult for large corporations.
“We help with that, and it’s exciting to be able to connect small businesses with corporations,” the speaker remarked.”Our aim is to provide an avenue for small, local, and varied sellers to interact with a large organization.” A prime example is the United States Air Force. Amazon Business allowed Air Force procurement staff to access a database of over 100,000 small businesses and determine whether any local small businesses within 50 miles of any Air Force base were selling the necessary supplies. The Air Force was keen to purchase more goods from small and local businesses in order to support and create jobs in their communities. They numbered in the thousands. Via Amazon Business, the Air Force has purchased 7,600 items from 2,600 regional small companies. According to the report, $1.29 million was given to small companies, including those run by women, veterans, and those located in formerly neglected commercial zones. It’s quite similar to checking a box. When a user tries to make a purchase, the selection is narrowed down to only the items from the local source if you create a rule such, “I want my users to buy from a local supplier.” It really comes down to giving our consumers that kind of power and control.
Where can I access Amazon Business?
Since its founding, Amazon Business has grown to include Canada and the UK.
