Amazon Business - The B2B Marketplace Will Look To Fulfill The Procurement Needs Of SMBs

US-based ecommerce giant Amazon has launched a B2B marketplace Amazon Business. It will focus on the procurement needs of Small and Medium Businesses (SMB) such as technology and service companies, manufacturers, universities, schools and offices.

In an official statement, the company said that through Amazon Business sellers registered with the ecommerce portal will provide SMBs with an access to over 100 Mn products along with GST compliant invoices.

Manish Tiwary, Vice President Category Management, Amazon India said, “With this launch, we now have a fully functional B2B marketplace alongside our thriving B2C marketplace to enable the same benefits for business buyers including a vast selection, value, convenience of doorstep delivery and more.”

SMBs across India can choose from a range of products including laptops, printers, network storage solutions, electronics, pantry supplies, office supplies, cleaning etc. Businesses can register with Amazon Business with their GST number and thus become entitled to input tax credit (varying between 5% -28% basis different product types). Apart from this the B2B marketplace also offers business-specific features like business-only pricing and quantity discount on bulk orders.

Amazon Business – The Bet On B2B Supplies

Amazon Business was initially launched in the US in April 2015. Currently, the service has over 1 Mn customers globally. The Amazon Business is present in five other countries globally, including Germany, UK and Japan.

Amazon Business India will offer free shipping (on eligible purchases) to a business customer that registers for the service with reliable delivery timelines. Apart from these features, it will also provide analytical insights to the consumers. A customer can gain insights into what, when and how their organisation is purchasing by creating custom reports on their business spends.

Apart from these features, Amazon Business will also provide analytical insights to the consumers. A customer can gain insights into what, when and how their organisation is purchasing by creating custom reports on their business spends. As of now, there are about 15,000 business sellers enrolled onto Amazon Business India portal, who offer products with GST invoices.

According to a Walmart report, the B2B ecommerce market is estimated to reach $700 Mn by 2020. In Septemebr, Gurugram-based B2B marketplace Power2SME raised $36 Mn Series E funding. The round saw the participation of existing investors Inventus Capital Partners, Accel, Kalaari Capital and Nandan Nilekani with participation from IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. With the launch of Amazon Business, the ecommerce giant will look to cement its position against Indian players including Moglix, Bizongo, OfBusiness, Wholesalebox etc.