Amazon

Amazon Business operates in the dynamic landscape of business to business procurement offering its customers both internal, and external the tools they need to shop and save on everyday work essentials from the most comprehensive store for business purchasing. Since it was launched in 2015, Amazon Business serves more than 6 million business customers, serving 96 of the Fortune 100 companies. One of the early adopters was Amazon itself, but earning the trust of Amazon’s multitude of purchasing administrators was no easy task.

As with most success stories at Amazon, the ultimate success of Amazon Business started with working backwards from the customer. Amazon Business has invested significant time in gaining a thorough understanding of the needs of corporate power buyers and procurement teams, including procurement teams within Amazon. One example is Amazon Business’ Request for Quote (RFQ) feature that addresses high-volume purchases of greater than $10K or 999 units. RFQ enables customers to tap into Amazon Business’ extensive network of pre-vetted bulk suppliers, negotiating strategic pricing aligned with their unique requirements, and to receive a quote back within 48 hours.

The tool enables customers to access additional inventory beyond what is readily available on Amazon Business and receive consolidated shipments on eligible purchases. The seamless management of quote requests and seller responses through this bulk ordering portal results in an average savings of approximately 10% in addition to receiving the requested items within the customer’s required timeframes.

Amazon’s internal procurement – Global Health and Safety Procurement (GHSP) organization recently partnered with Amazon Business in using this tool to fulfill a critical need for 35,000 climbing style hard hats due to a rise in the Head Injury Rate – “HIR” and to ensure safety of seasonal employees during the peak season. Based on the customer’s requirements, the Amazon Business team identified product options that met the customer’s specifications and could be delivered within a short timeframe across multiple locations in the United States.

Hard hats are just one example of customized bulk orders that have been processed through the Amazon Business RFQ tool. Amazon Business has also deployed the RFQ tool to provide our internal and external procurement teams with bulk purchasing solutions for a myriad of products across categories like IT peripherals, MRO, and protective clothing. Just as our external customers have identified substantial opportunities through Amazon Business to transition to Smart Business Buying, Amazon Business is committed to that same success with our internal power buyers within the Amazon community.

The agility, collaboration, and commitment to client satisfaction demonstrated by the Amazon Business team, coupled with its ability to cater to unique client needs, streamline procurement processes, and deliver quality solutions within tight timelines empowers buyers to rely on Amazon Business for the products they need to run their business.

If you would like to learn more about bulk buying solutions with Amazon Business, or learn the steps to begin your own quote request, start here with the Request for Quote & the Bulk Buying tool training video.