Better business begins with better buying. Save time and money on procurement by optimising your purchasing processes.
Digitalisation
As the global economy becomes more remote, the more digitalised your procurement is, the better. That goes for digital payment too.
Credit cards are usually required to make online payments. Employees should be equipped to pay as smoothly and compliantly as possible, but those who don’t make many purchases might also not need plastic cards. Virtual cards are often the right solution for them, and are becoming a critical element in your diversified digital payment portfolio.
Post-pandemic payment landscape
Covid-19 did more than keep us all at home. It drove more people than ever to buy online – even businesses. The B2B world found new ways to pay, and it almost always brought us online.
Though we all can’t wait for our favorite places to reopen, many changes look permanent. The future was always going to be digital – it’s just here a lot sooner than we expected. Now is the time to futureproof your purchasing.
Amazon leadership
Amazon has rapidly established itself as one of the most successful, important, and fastest growing companies in the world. The global online retailer has long been a household name for the private sphere, but through its Amazon Business platform it is now emerging as potentially as dominant in the corporate world.
This is a typical example of the type of consumerisation that has become standard with the sharing economy, where companies adapt models, behaviours, and platforms into their business environments that they initially adopted for their private lives.
The rise of Amazon Business
Amazon’s relevance to our personal lives is a given, but more interesting from our perspective is the growing usage by companies of its platform Amazon Business. More and more companies have looked to add the online platform to their business channels – and not just for buying the products and services they need but for selling those products and services in a brand new marketplace that opens up worldwide distribution and visibility.
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What are companies buying on Amazon? |
Why sell on Amazon? |
Costs |
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- Clothing and furniture - R&D (competitor products, etc.) - Food & beverages - Office supplies - IT services - Electronics - Books |
- Easy logistics & shipping - Quick delivery - Return management - Massive stock storage space - Customisation - Global distribution - Diversified sales offers |
- Fixed monthly fee - Percentage commissions on sold products and services - Advertising fees Check out this article to see whether Amazon is right for you. |
A simple solution
The challenges that arise from any new environment can be overcome with the right tools. Amazon Business can be integrated into your existing e-procurement systems. Supporting compliance and respecting existing authorisation processes. AirPlus Virtual Cards Procurement fit ideally among accepted payment methods for both your ad hoc and recurring purchases.
On the selling side, payment reception by Amazon can be automated, process enhanced and Virtual Cards Procurement personalised, such as to pay for advertising campaigns.
Virtual cards are the ideal online payment method. AirPlus Virtual Cards Procurement are the best tool for simplifying, optimising and delegating online procurement without losing control. They equip you to combine the advantages of virtual payment with the benefit of Amazon Business.
How it works
Generate a virtual card number and personalise how you’ll use it by setting properties like credit limit, currency, validity, and more. Insert the number directly into the platform as if it were the number on a plastic credit card. The card can be stored in the platform and the charge can be made directly or periodically according to agreement and type of purchase.
What you gain
- You gain a central payment platform in line with policy instead of various difficult-to-track methods.
- You empower your departments to make independent purchases but maintain control of the process.
- You free yourself of the regulations of plastic cards (no two-factor authentication required), automate recurring payments and collect more transaction data.
- You better manage peaks and seasons with promotional periods like Black Friday and the possibility of flexible credit limits.
- You receive a single AirPlus statement instead of many from Amazon.
- You gain extended payment terms and improve your DPO.
It’s time to optimise
Strengthening your purchasing strategy is quicker and easier than you imagine. It rarely requires massive policy overhauls. Optimisation starts with learning how to conduct better business with the processes you already use. On the global and growing Amazon Business platform, AirPlus Virtual Cards Procurement can go a long way to helping you save time and money.
