Amazon offers new business-to-business service in UK

Ecommerce giant Amazon has launched its latest attempt to diversify its revenue streams by expanding its business-to-business operations in the UK.

Amazon Business will provide the new service to sell office supplies, industrial tools and laboratory kits to businesses, tapping into a multi-billion dollar B2B sales sector.

The trade option has already been launched in the US and Germany, and allows companies to track and limit spending, adding a new method for importing, and potentially exporting, goods and services.

The brand has already been launched in the US and Germany

"Whether you are a sole trader, a buyer in a mid-size company or a chief procurement officer in a large multi-national organisation, Amazon Business has the products and capabilities to serve your needs," said Bill Burkland, the head of Amazon Business in the UK.

The Seattle-based giant has embarked on a series of new projects during recent years to expand beyond its online retail operations, with particular success coming from the likes of its cloud computing services and new tech devices.

Amazon Business serves around 400,000 businesses currently in the US, generating more than $1bn in sales during its first year.

Hugh Fletcher at digital consultancy Salmon said the venture was yet another innovative service launched by Amazon that are all part of a wider plan that aims to drive and constantly reinforce its retail supremacy.

"Whether it is an IoT-connected button or voice-controlled interface, Amazon leads the industry because it continuously innovates into non-traditional and unexpected sectors. In a business world that is beset with organisations looking outside of their regular remit, it is becoming increasingly difficult to map what a competitor’s next move will be. The notion of ‘Aggressive Horizontality’, when brands strive to diversify their offering and push into new markets, looks set to rise.

He added that Amazon’s continued rise as a leader in various fields fitted into an ongoing shift away from brand loyalty in favour of service loyalty.

"Amazon’s shift into B2B is just another example of trying to control every single interface with the customer; in a world where a consumer and business’ first choice is Amazon, competitors need to think long and hard about how they can break this monopoly on the customer relationship, particularly when the service is so good. Retailers need to revolutionise their own offering to combat leaders like Amazon.”

During the last twelve months Jeff Bezos' company has been boosted by the diversification, with 2016 profits triple that of the previous years, sending its share price 50% higher to record levels, up 0.56% on Monday to close at $891.51 per share.