Amazon Business woos large companies with commerce tools

Amazon Business plans to make it easier for large enterprises including multinationals, universities, healthcare networks and government agencies to manage their online procurement.

Shelley Salomon, worldwide vice president, Amazon Business

“Amazon Business wants to change how companies shop for supplies through our unmatched selection, deep discounts, and smart capabilities,” says Shelley Salomon, worldwide vice president of Amazon Business.

The new toolset includes:

• Amazon Business App Center, a global “one-stop shop” where companies can connect their Amazon Business account with more than 25 third-party applications for such purposes as integrated shopping, financial accounting management, inventory management, business analytics, and loyalty program management.
• Guided Buying for managing employee spending and steering buyers to an organization’s preferred purchasing. For example, a toolbar lets account administrators highlight preferred products with sustainability certifications.
• Integrated Quoting is designed to help businesses generate custom quotes for bulk orders placed through Amazon Business as well as other suppliers via third-party e-sourcing and e-procurement platforms. Amazon says the Integrated Quoting feature is “ideal for business customers purchasing more than 1,000 items or more than $10,000 in total value.”
• Budget Management helps companies manage how they set and review time-bound budgets across their organization, Amazon says. “Business customers can set spend thresholds and make budget amounts visible to buyers to get ahead of overspending,” Amazon says.

The new Guided Buying tool available through Amazon Business.

Amazon Business says it “drives roughly $35 billion in annualized gross sales and has more than 6 million customers worldwide, including 96 of the Fortune 100.”

Greg Long, purchasing manager at Seminole County Public Schools in Sanford, Florida, says in an Amazon Business press release: “One of our favorite Amazon Business features is Budget Management. It gives teachers visibility into our budget, so they know how much they have to spend, making it easier to stay within our annual budget.”

Amazon Business adds that it is focused on companies of all sizes.

“Amazon Business wants to transform how companies — whether a local hair salon, global corporation, school, non-profit, hospital, or government agency — shop for supplies through an unmatched selection, deep discounts, and smart capabilities,” a spokesperson says. “Using innovative technology, Amazon Business saves organizations time and money so they can focus their resources on what matters.”

Salomon adds, “We don’t just react to the biggest challenges our customers have shared with us; we get ahead of them with new technologies so our customers can use their resources to navigate the unexpected and continue expanding their business.”

Salomon, an Amazon veteran of more than 20 years, was appointed worldwide vice president of Amazon Business in March after Alexandre Gagnon left that position for a leave of absence. Amazon did not comment on the future plans of Gagnon, who still lists his Amazon Business position on his LinkedIn page.

Salomon’s most recent position at Amazon was vice president of sales, marketing and business development, Amazon Devices. Her other Amazon positions have included vice president of global logistics and delivery technology, and president of Endless.com. She joined Amazon in December 2023 as a senior finance manager following a finance manager position at Intel, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Paul Demery is a Digital Commerce 360 contributing editor covering B2B digital commerce technology and strategy. [email protected].

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