We are excited to announce that the University of Kent has partnered with Amazon Business for non-contracted supplies: if you purchase any business related items through Amazon, you will shortly receive an email to convert your Amazon account to a Business Account.
Will I Get An Email?
If you have purchased from Amazon, using a University Purchasing Card or a kent.ac.uk email address, Amazon and our Procurement Team will send you an email shortly asking you to convert your Amazon account to an Amazon Business Account.
This will reduce your costs and gain free next day shipping on Prime-eligible (as denoted by Prime badge) orders over £30. (A full list of benefits is below)
About Amazon Business :
Amazon Business is a new marketplace on Amazon.co.uk that offers exclusive access to hundreds of millions of products in a shopping experience tailored for businesses. This effectively consolidates all our disparate Amazon spend into one corporate identity with a discount structure. This will also make the ‘back end’ processes easier and simpler for us.
Acceptable Use :
You must not use the Amazon Business Account for Personal or Non-Work related purchases. Orders will be reviewed : transactions that may not be suitable for business use will be investigated, and action taken where appropriate.
Benefits :
- Free Next Day Shipping on qualifying orders over £30 [Learn More]
- Business Pricing and quantity discounts on select items
- Business-optimized search and browse functionality
- Enhanced reporting & reconciliation
- Dedicated Business Customer Service
- VAT Exclusive pricing in many instances
Full details are at : https://www.amazon.co.uk/b2b/info/features?layout=landing#account
Other Contracts (such as Office Depot):
You should still use other contracts, such as Office Depot, where they exist, for items such as stationery, office supplies, and so on. The arrangement with Amazon exists to reduce costs and improve service where we would have purchased from Amazon anyway.
Queries :
If you have any queries please contact the Procurement Team at procurement@kent.ac.uk
Next Steps:
You will receive an email, inviting you to join Amazon Business as an authorized buyer for University of Kent in the next few days. To systematically link you with our business account, accept purchasing responsibility (within the email body) and complete the necessary steps to finalize your business association. Note: please take prompt action as invitations expire after 7 business days.
- Existing Amazon Account Owner (Business Purchases): Everyone authorized to purchase on behalf of University of Kent will have their own business user account and can access Amazon Business using their own account credentials. If you already have an Amazon account (tied to your work email), you can convert your existing account into a business user account. When directed to the account ‘Sign In’ page, input your existing Amazon account credentials. This will ensure saved account information, including order history, addresses, payment methods, etc. is not impacted as you migrate from standard buyer to business user.
- Existing Amazon Account Owner (Personal and/or Business & Personal Purchases): If you have used your existing Amazon account to make personal purchases, it is best practice and recommended by Amazon to create a new account for business (rather than converting an existing Amazon account) to separate business vs. personal purchases. Note: If your work email is tied to your existing Amazon account, follow the prompts to associate a new, personal email address with your pre-existing (personal) account so you can free up your work email, create a new account for business and link your work email with your business user account.
- New Amazon User: If you don’t have an existing Amazon account, you will be walked through creating a new account for business after accepting your business invitation.
Interested in learning more? Review key features here or check out the Amazon Business FAQ page.