Australian organisations are spending almost as much managing their procurement processes as they are on the goods and services themselves. New research by Lonergan Research and commissioned by Amazon Business reveals Australian business leaders report an average of $257,000 annually lost to manual approvals, fragmented suppliers, and administrative overhead.
In the first year since launch in Australia, tens of thousands of organisations have turned to Amazon Business to close that gap, collectively driving more than 50% average quarter-on-quarter order growth while accessing same-day or next-day delivery options.
What the numbers show
Product selection on Amazon Business has grown 9x since launch, with Technology and Electronics, Office Products, and Cleaning and Industrial Supplies among the most popular categories. Orders placed on Amazon Business increased by 155% in the second half of the launch year compared to the first six months.
Australian businesses have collectively saved hundreds of thousands of dollars through Business Pricing, Quantity Discounts, and free shipping—consolidating spend that was previously spread across fragmented supplier networks.
The procurement gap
Research commissioned by Amazon Business and conducted by Lonergan Research surveyed 1,000 Australian business leaders and found:
- Over 70% say manual approval workflows delay important purchases
- 65% believe they overpay due to fragmented supplier networks
- Nearly 20% still rely on manual systems like paper forms and spreadsheets
- Business leaders cited an approximate spend of more than $257,000 annually on procurement management alone
"Amazon Business has helped us streamline purchasing by bringing a wide range of products and suppliers together in one place," said Angelica Kritharis, Contracts and Procurement Manager at Iglu Student Accommodation. "The improved visibility over spending across our 14 sites has reduced administrative burden for our teams—and across the last three months, we've achieved 19% in savings on our procurement."
"We started using Amazon Business to streamline our procurement in one centralised place," said Serena Ang, General Manager at Zushi. "Delivery is fast, convenient, and trackable in real time—we know exactly when orders are arriving, which means less time chasing suppliers and more time running the business."
Smarter buying, powered by innovation
Since launch, Amazon Business has introduced features designed to close Australia's digital procurement gap, including Single Sign-On, Guided Buying, and Spend Visibility tools. Now, new features are rolling out to help customers focus less on process and more on the decisions that move their organisation forward:
Amazon Quick: available as a discounted benefit for Prime Business members from later this month, is an AI-powered assistant that connects to more thousands of apps and data sources to automate manual tasks, conduct research in minutes, and produce finished deliverables like presentations and spreadsheets. Built on AWS, Quick gives lean teams the operational capacity of a much larger workforce while keeping data secure.
Business Essentials: launching today, simplifies how organisations source everyday items through competitive pricing, bulk options with up to 15% savings, and tens of thousands of products with same-day and next-day delivery, curated based on what similar businesses buy.
Enterprise partnerships signal what's next
As Amazon Business enters its second year, it's expanding partnerships with enterprises operating across the region—including a new partnership with Carnival Cruise Line, bringing its existing U.S. procurement relationship to Australian operations.
"One of the biggest challenges we face is just the sheer scale of what we do, the volumes that we buy in the market, and trying to have consistency in terms of spec, and reliability of supply and price," said Jeremy Goodman, Director of Supply Chain at Carnival Cruises. "Amazon Business really gives us the option to be able to access millions of products, with such a diverse range of items that can support with both front of house and back of house supplies."
"Procurement has traditionally been viewed as a back-office function, but businesses are increasingly recognising the impact it has on productivity and profitability," said Lena Zak, Country Manager, Amazon Business Australia. "We're seeing strong momentum because organisations want simpler, more consolidated ways to purchase what they need while gaining better visibility and control over spending."
For more on Amazon Business, visit: https://www.amazon.com.au/business
