What do customers want in a purchasing solution? (Part two)

This is the second of a two-part series (see the first post here) to explain how Amazon Business addresses the top benefits that drive customer choice of a purchasing solution. In the first post, I focused on the top four benefits. Let’s learn about the next set of important benefits.

5. Help manage total cost of purchasing

When choosing a purchasing solution, organizations don’t only look at cost; they consider long-term value. One way we help you drive long-term value is through our Business Prime membership program. We designed this program to maximize your savings. For example, some of the features you can leverage are:

• Guided Buying: Identify your organization’s preferred products or sellers, and restrict or block product categories, to guide buyer behavior across your organization (not available with Business Prime Duo).
• Free shipping on eligible items.
• Optional 45-60 day payment terms on pay by invoice.

One of our customers, Granite School District with 68,000 students in the State of Utah, is leveraging Business Prime to save money that it invests back into the classroom to improve the learning experience.

“Business Prime allowed us to stop purchasing Prime memberships on individual Amazon accounts and keep everything organized under our Amazon Business account. That alone has saved our schools a lot of money. Teachers buy just what they need, without adding extras, because they’re getting free, Two-Day Shipping with any order. That saves a lot of money that can be put right back into the classroom.” - Jared Gardner, District Procurement Manager

6. Provide shipping options that fit my organization’s needs

Wouldn’t it be nice if your employees got what they needed, when they needed it? We offer you the ability to customize your delivery preferences. For eligible orders, you or your employees can choose preferred delivery days and times during the week for addresses stored in your account. You can also provide customized delivery instructions such as access codes, the delivery location within the building etc., resulting in fewer missed or delayed shipments.

ExxonMobil is an example of a customer that has customized delivery preferences for each of its locations.

“Instead of deliveries spread out throughout hours, days, and weeks, we get them delivered across all of our locations on a dedicated Amazon Day that we selected based on our shipping preferences. Free delivery through Business Prime is also a major advantage. Otherwise, an average package costs roughly $7.50 to deliver via postal services. Multiply that by the many thousands of monthly deliveries in the US alone, and that gives you an idea of the shipping cost savings with free Amazon delivery.” - Nassim Kefi, Procurement Advisor

7. Free up employee time to focus on high-value activities and jobs 

Buyers that spend less time on purchasing can spend more time growing your business. Empower them with tools to purchase what they need to be successful in their roles. Creation and sharing of lists and recurring deliveries on items they purchase frequently, helps them save time on purchases—letting them spend more time serving their customers.

For example, Endeavor Schools is finding more time to do what matters most to them—serve students. This operator of private early childhood education schools is using book lists to share recommended curriculum materials across their network of 42 locations in 10 states, serving nearly 9,000 children. It dynamically updates, and creates a one-stop, pre-approved shopping list from which schools can choose, giving teachers more control over their orders. It’s easier to review purchase reports class by class, and there are fewer last-minute trips offsite.

“The time savings alone has been worth it.” - Nichole Farrar, Executive Director

8. Offer competitive pricing

When you work with us, you can unlock competitive pricing on items across ten categories spanning office supplies, IT peripherals, janitorial and sanitation, and more. You’ll save on every type of purchase because we match you with the best type of discount available. Between business only pricing and Quantity Discounts (available only with Business Prime), you can save on millions of products.

United Service Organizations (USO), a global nonprofit organization serving women and men in the US military, leans on the competitive pricing environment to serve 250 locations in 15 countries across the world. For nonprofit organizations, every dollar spent represents a choice between funding staff, operations, or programs. Today, between 80-90 percent of all spend is confirmed best pricing available, according to Rick Quaintance, Senior Director of Procurement and Contracts Management.

Your needs are our obsession. We build products and features that best address those needs to offer a seamless purchasing experience. Create a free Amazon Business account to reshape buying within your organization.