E-commerce giant Amazon has launched a new service aimed at the business market.

And with its vast resources it is clear that it is local independent suppliers who are going to suffer most.

The new service Amazon Business was unveiled today and aims to tap into the £96.5 billion business-to-business sales market online in the UK.

Amazon will be selling more than 100 million products from cleaning products to laptops and is hoping to hoover up sales to businesses big and small.

A similar business sevice in the United States has resulted in 400,000 business customers and sales of £800million.

Amazon say the new service will "meet the procurement needs of businesses of every size - from small businesses to large multi-national organisations, as well as institutional buyers like universities, hospitals and non-profits.

Bill Burkland, Head of Amazon Business UK said: "Amazon Business combines more than one hundred million business products with a new set of unique business features - from reporting and analytics to spending limits and purchasing workflow approvals - making it everything you love about Amazon, now for business."

We at Punchline are all in favour of choice - it's what a healthy, vibrant economy is built upon.

But we also believe it is vitally important to support local, independent businesses. Not faceless mega giants with no interest in local communities and the entrepreneurs who help them thrive and grow.

Independent traders are our lifeblood. They need and deserve our support.

What do you think? Email mark@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk 

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