New service will ‘fill a gap’ says online commerce giant.

 

Online commerce giant Amazon has marked the end of the financial year with the launch of a new service targeting the multi billion-dollar business-to-business (B2B) market.

 

Amazon Business will offer small, medium and large companies office products, electronics, furniture and more, at what Amazon says will be competitive pricing.

 

Its launch comes as businesses stock up on supplies ahead of the new financial year.

 

Amazon, which launched in Australia eight years’ ago, said its new division will offer a cheaper and simpler purchasing process through business-only pricing, quantity discounts on eligible products and dedicated customer support.

 

Companies will also be offered the choice of upgrading to Business Prime, which combines the shipping benefits Amazon Prime members enjoy with exclusive business features such as shared accounts and buying policies.

 

Lena Zak, Amazon Business Australia country manager (pictured), said the new service will ease the purchasing process for companies.

 

Zak said 78 per cent of SMBs have had to implement some form of cost-cutting measures over the past three years.

 

“As operating costs keep rising, Amazon Business can help take some of that pressure off by offering meaningful savings on everyday goods and supplies, along with the convenience and simplicity of our delivery experience,” she said.

 

 Zak told Yahoo Finance there was a gap in the market for the service.

 

“I really don’t think that anybody else can offer what we offer. We have millions of products on Amazon that really aren’t available anywhere else,” she said.

 

Research conducted by YouGov and commissioned by Amazon Australia highlighted that the cost of doing business has increased for 92 per cent of Australian SMBs over the past three years.