Amazon Business – What You Need to Know
What is Amazon Business?
What if I told you that Amazon had a somewhat unknown business-to-business marketplace that offered exclusive pricing for small and enterprise-sized businesses? Well, to the shock of many, that is exactly the case when it comes to Amazon’s new venture, Amazon Business.
It is the familiar experience of Amazon, enhanced with B2B marketing and a streamlined, bulk-focused platform. Currently, Amazon Business has 12 million products on offer, with quantity discounts starting at just two units.
The platform even has a “business prime” service, that allows business buyers to access quantity discounts, and preferred suppliers with an Amazon Business Account.
Whether you are a small business looking for a guided buying experience, or a large, sophisticated enterprise with a complex purchasing system, Amazon Business has a wealth of product offerings on their B2B marketplace.
What kind of businesses are on Amazon business?
You can find businesses of all sizes and types on Amazon. From sole proprietors to fast-growing startups, millions of small businesses worldwide buy on Amazon Business.
As a small business, Amazon offers a special certification that flags you to potential buyers. It will allow you to improve your B2B marketing strategies that will help you gain an edge over larger, more sophisticated sellers.
It offers smaller businesses the chance to reach business buyers, support a multi-channel strategy, and scale their growth in new and powerful ways.
Where is Amazon Business available?
Thanks to its relatively recent launch, Amazon Business is only available in select countries.
- Canada
- United States
- United Kingdom
- France
- Italy
- Spain
- Japan
- India
Amazon is working to improve and expand this list, and it will likely follow Amazon’s B2C marketplace with explosive growth.
How much does it cost and what are the payment options?
Both platforms share a similar payment method that provides the user flexibility and choice. Amazon Business accepts credit cards, debit cards, and the Amazon corporate credit line. Any authorized user of your business account can purchase items on the B2B platform.
Below are the Amazon Business Prime cost breakdowns by location.
Starting at just $39 a year for a single user, and getting as high as $10,099/year for a 100+ user enterprise, Amazon Business has a wide range of options that suit all use cases. The different options range in price based on the additional features that are on offer.
What is Amazon Business’s advantage for small businesses?
There are several advantages of using Amazon’s B2B platform.
Tax Advantages
One of the most significant advantages of Amazon Business is the tax exemption for qualifying organizations.
Known within the Amazon B2B world as ATEP, the program creates an exemption in Amazon’s system that prevents it from collecting sales taxes or use taxes for purchases you make via Amazon-operated websites. Note that this only applies to qualifying sellers!
Business Analytics
Another great benefit is the available analytics that can be used for internal reporting purposes. It will allow you to analyze spending patterns for insights that can help inform your budgeting decisions and buying policies.
You can filter suppliers by GST/HST/QST invoice availability, and download tax invoices to simplify accounting claims for input tax credits.
Quantity Discounts
Pricing is a huge bonus of Amazon Business. Save up to 10% with quantity discounts on over 12 million products starting at just two units of the same item.
Amazon’s B2B marketing platform is incredible, and it allows you get a great glimpse and easily evaluate preferred suppliers using your Amazon business account.
Simplified Buying Experience
Finally, the buying experience is simple. With 95 million Prime Members in the US, and 2 million in Canada, it is no secret that a huge portion of the population is familiar with Amazon.
Your business will not have to navigate the web that is B2B marketing and B2B sales, meaning that you can quickly and easily order products from key business buyers on Amazon Business.
Fast, Free Business Delivery
Amazon Business gives you access to free, fast, one-day shipping on hundreds of thousands of eligible items. Some items even get access to free same-day delivery.
The service also offers free two-day shipping on millions of eligible items. The B2B service can help improve the speed and reliability of your supply chain.
Why you should consider using Amazon Business
Whether you are an aspiring supplier looking to access millions of business accounts, or a small business looking for discounts on popular products, Amazon Business is a great place to access a massive B2B marketplace.
Businesses of all sizes can benefit from using Amazon Business as their primary B2B marketplace.
For sellers: Improve your eCommerce business and access millions of buyers looking to purchase in bulk from you and your business. Offer specialized B2B marketing to improve your brand image and diversify your sales channels. B2B relationships can help you move unprecedented amounts of volume.
For buyers: Amazon Business offers a simplistic, comprehensive, focused B2B buying experience with the familiarity of the consumer side of Amazon. If you are willing to pay the premium, you can access exclusive tools, pricing and quick shipping that will help you get product into your supply chain faster, and at a lower cost than going through conventional B2B channels.
Conclusion
Effectively selling products on Amazon is complex. A great seller will have to juggle marketing efforts, logistics, case management, and more – meaning that a great seller will have their hands full.
This, combined with the constant pressure from maintaining great listings can make selling on Amazon overwhelming.
If you don’t feel like you have the time to focus on preventing suppressed listings from happening, consider looking at a trusted Amazon Consulting Agency.
Hiring the right agency can offer you effective account management that will help you optimize your Amazon listings and your Amazon SEO, freeing up time for you to focus on the more important elements of your Amazon business.