Amazon launches free, two-day Business Prime Shipping

The same free, two-day shipping offered to home-based consumers is now available to businesses in the U.S. and Germany through Amazon Business’s new Business Prime Shipping subscription.    Amazon Business has launched a Prime membership service for businesses to provide the same free, two-day shipping service used by home-based online shoppers for business employees purchasing supplies, approving said purchases or in procurement.
   Business Prime Shipping is currently available in the U.S. and Germany to companies paying $499 to as much as $10,099 a year depending on their size. “Business Prime Shipping combines the wide selection of products available to Amazon Business customers, with the speed and convenience that customers have come to know and love from Amazon Prime,” said Greg Greeley, vice president of Amazon Prime. “We are excited to introduce a shipping program designed to meet the needs of businesses and will continue to innovate on behalf of customers to make business purchasing even easier.”
   Business-to-business transactions, which includes everything from office desk supplies to factory parts, have had a slow shift to online sales but could be a bigger revenue opportunity in the long term, said Andy Hoar, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc., to Bloomberg. “I don’t see the same ceiling in business-to-business sales as I do in retail,” Hoar said to Bloomberg. “In retail, people want to go to the store to see and touch things. For business sales, people don’t want to have to go to the store.”
   Amazon may be able to capitalize on that sentiment. According to Vice President of Amazon Business Prentis Wilson, “Business Prime Shipping enables businesses with multiple users to further simplify their procurement procedures and increasingly rely on Amazon Business to deliver. Customers can now get unlimited fast delivery across their organization on a vast selection of products while maintaining increased visibility on their business purchases.”
   According to Bloomberg, Amazon’s announcement caused shares of industrial suppliers WW Grainger Inc. and Fastenal Co., which both sell industrial and construction supplies, to fall 4.6 percent and 4.2 percent respectively. Investors are wondering if Amazon will use low prices and convenience to win the suppliers’ business in the same way it won market share from book stores, electronics stores, department stores and big-box retailers, said Bloomberg.