Amazon Business Adds Another EU Market To Roster

The expansion of Amazon Business continues, this time in Europe.

Amazon Business, the B2B commerce unit of Amazon, has launched in France, the company said on Wednesday (Feb. 7). This marks the third jurisdiction in Europe for the platform after its rollout in the U.K. and Germany.

A press release noted that Amazon Business enables companies in these markets to procure goods online in their native languages. In addition to procuring goods, Amazon Business offers a platform with invoice payment capabilities, customizable catalogues and other features aimed at enhanced management of the procure-to-pay process.

The platform also offers smaller B2B sellers a chance to reach a wider customer base, the firm noted, even if they are outside France.

“The launch of Amazon Business on amazon.fr enables multinational businesses with entities in Europe to continue to streamline their purchasing, whilst also providing new exporting opportunities for smaller U.K. businesses who sell on the Amazon Business Marketplace,” stated Amazon.co.uk Head of Amazon Business Bill Burkland.

Amazon Business also has a partnership with spend management company Coupa; customers using Coupa can access the Amazon Business Marketplace from directly within the Coupa platform. Amazon Business integrates with existing eProcurement systems and offers enhanced data for purchases made on commercial cards.

Amazon Business has expanded outside Europe as well: last September, the company revealed its rollout in India, with a focus on small businesses in industries like technology, manufacturing and higher education.

“This is basically a marketplace to serve the needs of small and medium businesses,” said Manish Tiwary, VP of Amazon India, in an interview with Live Mint at the time. “The idea was quite simple. We get a lot of feedback from our 220,000-odd sellers who reach out to us and want to buy stuff from our B2C marketplace. As you’re aware, we keep quantity limits on our consumer marketplace. What we’ve gathered is that lots of small businesses struggle to meet their procurement needs in a seamless manner.”