The newly launched UK Amazon Business follows on from its successful US counterpart and last December’s launch in Germany to offer more than 100 million office, trade and business products. backed by free one day delivery on orders of £30+ as well as analytical tools to manage business expenditure. The new site is expected to be warmly welcomed by buyers for SMEs as a simple centralised source which will offer opportunities to research prices and control purchasing in one place.
“Whether you are a sole trader, a buyer in a mid-size company or a chief procurement officer in a large multinational organisation, Amazon Business has the products and capabilities to serve your needs,” said Bill Burkland, head of Amazon Business UK. Sellers display VAT exclusive prices on the site, can control quantity discount bands, as well as provide VAT invoices for all customers via the site. Fulfilment by Amazon is also offered and those sellers using the add-on service to sell their products will have them included in the Amazon Prime customer offer of unlimited one day delivery.
Market watchers have commented that this development could see many niche B2B players lose their range supremacy and USP, with the Amazon Business site offering manufacturers around the world direct access to end-user business customers without incurring the marketing cost or need to trade via multiple individual distributors. This, they warn, will reduce the ability for B2B specialists to compete on their product offerings alone.
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