As Officeworks goes after JB Hi Fi business Amazon has emerged as a major threat for Officeworks core business with their stationary, accessories and products for business 0ffering targeted by Amazon via a new B2b operation.

The thriving Wesfarmers owned Officeworks online business is also set to be targeted by Amazon as they move to challenge both JB Hi Fi’s struggling commercial business as Officeworks online operation which is popular with both large and small businesses in Australia.

It was only a week ago that Officeworks CEO Sarah Hunter was claiming that they were looking to strengthen their B2b business with an expansion of their omnichannel operation.

Amazon claim that their new Australian B2b operation is designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises better cope with soaring operating costs, offering bulk discounts and access to smarter purchasing tools.

A big advantage that Amazon have is their buying power across multiple categories in the B2b market due in part to the expansion of their B2b initatives in multiple Countries including the US, UK, Japan, France and India.

The move comes as business in Australia looks for cost savings due to the Federal Labor Government supporting a Fair Work Commission awarded above-inflation that is set to hurt businesses that are already facing a slowdown in revenue.

Last week Samsung rolled out a new division targeting business, government and enterprise organisations due in part to slowing demand for TVs and appliances.

The higher labour costs begin on July 1, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissing the claims of business who have told customers that price rises will also kick in following the Fair Work Commission decision.

Amazon Business Australia country manager Lena Zak said the new division would help ease rising operating costs by offering business-only pricing and quantity discounts, and a new Business Prime product that is similar to its consumer Prime that has free shipping and other benefits via an annual subscription will be available to business operators in Australia.

“Amazon Australia is excited to support Australian businesses and organisations of all sizes with simplifying a critical aspect of their operations, so they can focus on what’s most important to them: serving their own customers better, while growing their organisations,” Ms Zak said.

Recently Amazon and YouGov researched the owners of 513 small and medium-sized businesses.

79% were most concerned about rising operating costs with 83% claiming that they had no choice but to pass these costs on to their customers.

The Australian claims that separate survey by Commonwealth Bank earlier this year found that more than a quarter of Australian small business owners didn’t pay themselves a salary or used personal savings to help with cashflow problems in the past 12 months.

“As operating costs keep rising, Amazon Business can help take some of that pressure off by offering meaningful savings on everyday goods and supplies, along with the convenience and simplicity of our delivery experience,” Ms Zak said.

“Amazon Australia has significantly invested in and expanded its operations network to enable a seamless, faster and more reliable shopping experience for customers, and we are thrilled to now be offering that to business customers.

“We know this will be particularly beneficial for the millions of SMBs who operate across the country.”

The new Amazon initiative will support Amazon’s third party sellers on its market place by featuring their products on the company’s new B2B store. A business can then decide whether to use “fulfilment by Amazon”, which stores and ships their products to customers.