Since 2018, Jeff Bezos' company has also entered the field of e-commerce in the B2B sector, presenting the Italian version of Amazon Business. This marketplace, exclusive for businesses and professionals with a VAT number, allows you to make it easier and faster to buy online the products needed for your business, providing a series of dedicated services and features. In this guide we have analyzed how Amazon Business works, a review to see closely what advantages it offers and especially to whom it is convenient to open a business account. Here's everything you need to know about it.
What is Amazon Business
Amazon Business is a new service made available for a couple of years by Amazon Italy, through the Italian web portal of the famous American e-commerce. In particular, it is a marketplace reserved for companies and professionals with a VAT number, where to find a selection with over 250 million products dedicated to the business sector, with items designed specifically for the business activity and the performance of their profession.
This platform was created to simplify the life of companies and entrepreneurs, in fact, compared to the traditional marketplace of Amazon.it you can find only products for professional needs, a solution that allows you to take advantage of an exclusive environment to avoid wasting time. This allows you to find millions of items at competitive prices, to buy online and receive the goods to your home or business, with a system optimized for the management of electronic invoicing.
How does Amazon Business work
Let's analyze the operation of Amazon Business, to better understand what services it offers compared to the classic e-commerce company of Jeff Bezos. First of all, to access it, you need to register and create a business account, a simple procedure that takes just a few minutes. Obviously, the registration is free, and you can choose whether to use the same Amazon profile for normal customers by converting it into a business account, or whether to register with a dedicated profile different from the consumer one.
Anyhow, during the registration you must indicate an email address and a password, then in the next step you must fill out a form by entering some information about your company or business. In this case, it is necessary to have the data about the business name, VAT number and tax address available, in order to automate the sending of electronic invoices and facilitate the processes of purchasing and accounting for expenses made. Here are all the services of Amazon Business accessible after the creation of the account.
Shared Accounts
A first difference between the Amazon Business account and the traditional one is the multi-user mode, a prerogative of the service proposed by the American company for the corporate sector. In practice, it is possible to share access to the account to all authorized employees, even applying personalized spending limits, in this way you can use a single profile to manage all online purchases of the company. This allows you to simplify supply activities, and you can also accurately track expenses, thanks to the tracking and reporting tools in the account.
Electronic Invoicing
All purchases made on Amazon Business include the issuance of an electronic invoice, an automated service provided for almost all products sold directly by Amazon and a number of participating retailers. In order to receive the documents, it is enough to register a certified electronic mail address (PEC), after which the electronic invoices will be sent in XML-PA format, with the possibility to download them in PDF from the My Orders section or in the Purchase Analysis section. Invoices are detailed in order to optimize the accounting of purchases, moreover products that are not available with the invoice are always reported.
Integration with the company management system
A very interesting feature is undoubtedly the integration of Amazon Business with the company management system, in order to simplify the management of orders and make the recording of payment invoices faster. Through tags and custom codes, in fact, it is possible to automate some processes such as recurring purchases, minimizing the time and ensuring maximum business continuity, with supplies always on time and scheduled according to the needs of your business.
Purchase and payment methods
With Amazon Business you can choose the payment method that best suits your needs, for example using credit or debit cards or opting for direct debit. At the same time, you can integrate your payment systems with a number of digital technologies to optimize your business supply chain management, including cloud solutions from SAP Ariba, Coupa and JAGGAER. The tools can be shared within the corporate purchasing group, authorizing only some users or the entire team inserted in the business account.
Returns and deliveries
Among the added values of the service proposed by Amazon Business is the fast delivery service, managed through the advanced logistics network of the American company. Shipments of small amounts involve an additional cost, however Amazon offers free deliveries above 29 euros of expenditure, then considering the needs of the company almost all shipments do not provide additional commissions. In addition, you can take advantage of fast deliveries in just 1 day, with a simplified procedure for free return of goods to be returned.
Analysis and monitoring of purchases
One of the benefits included in the Amazon Business service is the ability to monitor each purchase, using the tools included in the business account to analyze payments, invoices, monthly expenses and create customized reports according to your needs. Not to be underestimated are the features to exclude certain product categories, or to activate preferential channels for certain sellers or specific items, making the buying process individual, fast and secure.
Amazon Business Prime
To benefit from some of the services mentioned, such as free one-day deliveries or multi-user account, you need to activate the Business Prime plan, the business version of Amazon Prime. In questo caso non sono presenti servizi come Prime Video o Amazon Music, ma è possibile accedere a tutte le funzionalità aggiuntive del profilo business non incluse nel piano di base gratuito. Inoltre sono compresi sconti progressivi in base all’importo speso, gli strumenti avanzati di analytics degli acquisti e le consegne pianificate.
Un altro servizio incluso è Amazon Guided Buying, un sistema con il quale creare policy aziendali personalizzate per gestire gli acquisti su Amazon Business, configurando in modo unico ogni profilo degli utenti che fanno parte dell’account aziendale. Il costo di Business Prime dipende dal piano tariffario scelto, con soluzioni per le piccole imprese e i professionisti a partire da 36 euro l’anno IVA esclusa, fino alle soluzioni per le grandi aziende con un prezzo di 2 mila euro l’anno IVA esclusa. Ecco tutti i dettagli sui profili di Business Prime.
- Basic, 36 euro l’anno + IVA fino a 3 utenti;
- Small, 100 euro l’anno + IVA fino a 10 utenti;
- Medium, 250 euro l’anno + IVA fino a 100 utenti;
- Unlimited, 2.000 euro l’anno + IVA con utenti illimitati.
A chi si rivolge il servizio Amazon Business
Amazon Business è un servizio che si rivolge a tutti i clienti aziendali, sia privati che pubblici, compresi tutti i lavoratori titolari di una partita IVA. In particolare, questo marketplace è dedicato a PMI, grandi aziende, liberi professionisti, lavoratori autonomi, scuole, multinazionali e ditte individuali. In addition, it is also possible to sign up to sell on Amazon Business, responding to the demand of companies by offering their products, a way to intercept the demands of the field of online sales in the B2B sector.
What advantages does Amazon Business offer
Using the Amazon Business service you can take advantage of a number of benefits, including the possibility of receiving discounts on frequent purchases, finding a wide selection of products of all kinds, from industrial to electrical engineering, from training materials to stationery. At the same time it is possible to simplify the purchasing process, benefit from free and fast delivery on millions of products, with a personalized experience and unified management through a single business account with multiple access.
Who is Amazon Business
Undoubtedly Amazon Business represents one of the most interesting digital services for B2B, because compared to other specialized e-commerce on the American portal you can find all the products in a single marketplace. The costs of the Business Prime subscription are quite low, considering that the basic plan starts from just 36 euros per year + VAT with access for 3 users, while for a medium-sized company 250 euros per year + VAT is enough to include up to 100 users in the business account.
Amazon Business is indicated for all businesses and professionals who want to simplify purchases, to automate and speed up the management of supplies by performing this process online. Besides, it adapts easily to any reality, from the neighborhood store to the large company, also allowing you to save money on purchases made more frequently. In any case, it is certainly a service to be tried by activating the free basic account, to understand if it really suits your needs and allows you to optimize your business or professional activity.