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Amid intense competition for talented employees, financial services firms are seeking ways to boost morale in the office and to keep remote workers engaged. When it comes to increasing job satisfaction, it’s often the little things that matter. Employees want ready access to the supplies they need to be productive, and they don’t want to jump through hoops to get them. When office supplies run out and it’s time-consuming to replace them, morale and productivity can drop.
That’s a risk most companies aren’t willing to accept, which is why they’re looking to improve their procurement practices, according to the 2024 State of Procurement Report from Amazon Business. In the survey, 95% of procurement decision makers said their purchasing operations have room for optimization. In addition, 98% said they were planning to invest in analytics, automation or artificial intelligence to streamline procurement.
Amazon Business can help financial services firms retain talented workers by giving them the same convenient buying experience that they enjoy at home. Whether they’re in the office, working from home or on the road, employees can count on fast delivery, as soon as the same day, minimizing disruptions to their workflow.
Amazon Business also gives businesses greater visibility and control of their spending, saves them money, and enables them to have supplies delivered to distributed locations automatically.
“Across industries and sectors, smart business buying mimics the familiar consumer buying experience all workers are familiar with, making it intuitive for employees outside of procurement to search for and buy the products they need most,” said Todd Heimes, vice president of Amazon Business.
With hundreds of thousands of vendors offering products at discounted prices on Amazon Business, organizations can have confidence that they won’t overpay for supplies. Businesses can also take advantage of the “Subscribe and Save” option, obtaining discounts of up to 15% by setting up recurring deliveries.
Automated delivery ensures that employees always have access to the breakroom supplies, office supplies and computer accessories they need to do their jobs. It also frees up procurement professionals to “focus on areas of the spend profile that drive intrinsic value,” according to Bailee Moylan, customer advisor at Amazon Business.
“Streamlining administrative tasks and making processes more efficient and more equitable for all employees allow those in procurement to focus on more value-added initiatives and activities,” Moylan said.
According to the State of Procurement Report, 91% of respondents said their organization’s purchasing processes are centralized in a way that allows only specific staffers in procurement to make purchases. By giving employees access to Amazon Business, companies can eliminate the back-and-forth emails that delay purchasing, and procurement decision makers won’t have to visit multiple websites to check for the best prices.
Automated delivery through Amazon Business makes it easy for businesses to monitor their spending and stick to their budgets. Companies can set up approval requirements for purchases above a certain amount, and they can analyze their spending to identify opportunities for savings.
Procurement teams no longer will be surprised by receipts for expensive items, and they can cut down on “rogue spending,” where employees make purchases outside of established contracts and processes. Rogue spending can undermine negotiated supplier agreements, leading to higher costs. The practice also makes it difficult for businesses to maintain accurate procurement data and to leverage their full purchasing power.
A deep dive into spending
Amazon Business allows companies to perform a “product basket analysis” that breaks down their spending on each type of item and shows how much they could save with Amazon Business. In a typical year, the savings can be substantial, enabling companies to redirect resources elsewhere, Moylan said.
When employees don’t have to fill out reimbursement forms or submit receipts, they can focus on their core job functions, and procurement teams don’t get bogged down by paperwork, she added.
“If your employees are using their corporate credit cards or their own Amazon accounts, it takes time and effort to go through each receipt, and you don’t have full visibility into what they’re buying,” Moylan said. “But when they use Amazon Business, you can see what employees are buying and track those purchases for budgeting purposes.”
According to the State of Procurement Report, 53% of procurement decision makers expected to have a bigger budget this year than last year, while 32% expected their budget to remain flat and 16% expected to have a smaller budget. Companies are committing a lot of resources to procurement, but they’re concerned about getting value for their money.
The report found that rising costs for products are the top external challenge facing procurement decision makers, cited by 36% of respondents. Similarly, costs and budgets were seen as the top risk facing procurement teams over the next few years, cited by 29% of respondents, and 82% said reducing costs in purchasing was a top priority.
By establishing a decentralized procurement system through Amazon Business, financial services firms can stretch their procurement dollars while meeting employees’ needs. Enabling managers to buy products for their own teams more easily was among the top priorities for procurement teams, according to the State of Procurement report, cited by 30% of respondents.
Procurement teams typically perform due diligence on big-ticket purchases, making sure they’re getting a quality product at a fair price. That often leaves them with little time to evaluate smaller purchases like everyday office supplies, lower-value items known as “indirect spend.”
Those small purchases may seem insignificant when compared with major investments, but they add up over time, so they need to be managed effectively, Moylan said. A product basket analysis gives procurement professionals insight into indirect purchasing patterns, which helps to inform their strategic decisions.
“The aggregation of the data means procurement teams can analyze information and make better decisions,” Moylan said. “It can provide a lot of value on spend that typically would not have been managed strategically.”
Easy implementation
Amazon Business has a wide selection of vendors aiming to be competitively priced and well-reviewed.
The large network of sellers gives financial services firms a broad range of options should product shortages arise or budgets change. That’s a key consideration for procurement teams, according to the State of Procurement Report, with 81% of respondents aiming to boost the resilience and agility of their supply chains over the next few years.
Since most employees already use Amazon in their personal lives, switching to Amazon Business is simple, Moylan said. By giving employees a seamless shopping experience and the opportunity to automate delivery, companies can encourage key contributors to stick around.
Amazon Business can be integrated with existing procurement software systems, so established vendor relationships and procurement practices can continue uninterrupted, Moylan said. Many of Amazon Business’s integrations are self-service, meaning they can be handled by a midlevel administrator with access to an existing e-procurement solution, she added.
“One thing financial services firms are concerned with is change management, but most employees already know how to use Amazon, so this isn’t a big lift,” Moylan said. “Amazon Business integrates with more than 300 different third-party systems like e-procurement, expense management and iDP systems, creating a connected smart business buying journey.”
Organizations can choose whether users punch into an enterprise system from Amazon Business or punch out from the system to Amazon Business. “You can integrate it into your pre-existing processes, with minimal training and downtime,” Moylan said.
Amazon Business empowers employees and their managers to research their preferred products, tapping into their expertise, rather than relying on the general knowledge of procurement professionals.
According to the State of Procurement Report, 78% of respondents said it’s very important to streamline purchasing for those outside of procurement. Through democratized procurement, workers can choose products tailored to their nuanced job functions and specifications, which can boost their job satisfaction and efficiency
Boosting retention through ESG
New research shows that ESG initiatives are a vital component of a strong recruitment and retention strategy, and Amazon Business makes it simple for businesses to act. Amazon Business gives workers access to more than 550,000 products carrying the Climate Pledge Friendly label, meaning they’re certified by trusted third parties as having meaningful sustainability features.
Research suggests that many companies are underestimating the importance of environmental, social and governance factors to employees. According to the 2024 Net Positive Employee Barometer, a survey of workers led by former Unilever Chief Executive Paul Polman, 66% of U.S. employees are anxious about the future of the planet and society, and 76% want to work for a company that’s trying to have a positive impact on the world.
Climate change ranks among the top societal concerns for American workers, with 73% saying they’re anxious about it. In addition, 61% said their company should do more to combat climate change, while only 34% said their company was doing enough.
In his report, Polman wrote that while financial compensation, benefits, advancement opportunities and treatment from bosses still matter most to young jobseekers, a company’s business practices and impact on the world are highly relevant to them.
“Our findings are eye-opening,” Polman wrote. “Many [young jobseekers] want to work for companies who share their values and who are stepping up on the biggest issues facing humanity, not least climate change and economic inequality.”
In weighing a job offer, 77% of Gen Z and millennials respondents said the employer’s environmental commitment would be an important factor, according to the survey. For Gen X and older respondents, that figure was 69%, illustrating that younger workers aren’t the only ones concerned about climate change. With 2024 shaping up as perhaps the hottest year on record, climate change is likely to remain an important issue for jobseekers.
The Net Positive Employee Barometer found that 51% of American workers would consider quitting their jobs if they disagreed with their employer’s environmental practices, and 35% claim to have done so already. The number of “climate quitters” climbed to 44% among Gen Z and millennial employees, and the same percentage said they would take a pay cut to work for a company that shared their values.
Taking action on ESG
With Amazon Business, companies can track their ESG initiatives and share their progress with employees, further demonstrating that they’re serious about their corporate stewardship. Businesses can use Amazon Business’ guided buying tools (available with a Business Prime membership) to steer purchases toward more sustainable products by promoting those items in search results.
Procurement teams can then generate detailed reports to show how much of their spending is going toward more sustainable products. Employees expect companies to adhere to their stated ESG objectives, and the reporting tools on Amazon Business allow companies to show their work.
These features address several major challenges for procurement teams cited in the State of Procurement Report from Amazon Business. The survey found that 85% of companies have difficulty sourcing suppliers that follow sustainable business practices, preventing them from setting and achieving sustainability goals.
The survey found that 81% of respondents have internal or external mandates to purchase from different types of certified sellers, such as environmentally conscious companies, small businesses or local vendors. Even among companies with no such mandates, four in 10 said ESG factors influence their procurement decisions.
Amazon Business has partnered with government agencies, nonprofits and independent laboratories to offer more than 50 environmental product certifications. With trusted third parties signing off on those certifications, companies can have confidence that they’re purchasing responsibly.
Amazon has taken the lead in developing several of those Climate Pledge Friendly certifications. Products meeting the Compact By Design designation, for instance, have reduced water and/or air in the product or packaging, making transportation more efficient. Similarly, products meeting the Plant-Based Fiber Blended certification are made with at least 50% plant-based content and with fewer harmful chemicals.
Along with the environment, the social and governance components of ESG have become priorities for businesses of all stripes, according to the 2024 State of Procurement Report. Among respondents who had mandates to purchase from certified seller groups, 59% said those practices were intended to boost environmentally conscious companies, compared with 40% for small businesses, 39% for local businesses and 25% for businesses with diverse ownership.
Through a simple search, Amazon Business can help companies to support local vendors, a priority for banks, credit unions, wealth advisories, insurers and other firms that serve local business communities. Customers also can diversify their pool of vendors by seeking out small businesses and those owned by women, racial minorities, veterans or people with disabilities.
Whatever their ESG goals, Amazon Business empowers financial services firms to support the vendors they choose without compromising on price or quality. As younger workers search for their next big opportunity, companies with a proven track record on ESG are better positioned to attract top talent and keep it long term.
Learn more about smart business buying solutions for your organization by visiting Amazon Business.
Making procurement less tedious
Procurement teams face the same staffing challenges as other departments, which is why many companies are focused on improving the job of procurement.
According to the 2024 State of Procurement Report from Amazon Business, 86% of procurement decision makers said retaining and developing existing talent was a top priority over the next few years. In addition, 84% said hiring more talented workers was a top priority, and 81% wanted to establish and refine procurement standards across the organization.
When employees use Amazon Business, they can reduce the workload for procurement professionals, who no longer need to check multiple websites for the best prices, research product specifications, perform due diligence on vendors and keep track of receipts from employees. In just a few seconds, they can generate detailed spending reports that would require painstaking labor to produce manually.
The Amazon Business report found that a top priority for 37% of respondents was spending less time gathering information for reporting. The same percentage wanted to spend less time trying to contact suppliers for information, updates or corrections; sourcing suppliers for simple purchases; and doing activities or reviews that could be automated.
Decentralized procurement through Amazon Business can also help procurement teams to handle more procurement decisions in-house, reducing their reliance on third parties. The Amazon Business report found that 95% of procurement decision makers say their organization outsources procurement tasks to third parties. Of that group, 70% said all or most activities are outsourced, and 45% cited limited capacity as the principal reason.
“By investing in tools that digitize, automate and streamline core functions and processes, procurement leaders can empower their teams to focus less on function and more on strategy,” said Doug Gray, vice president of technology for Amazon Business. “This realignment of priorities is beneficial for procurement teams as well as for the rest of their organizations. It’s an important milestone for businesses looking to drive innovation and efficiency.”
High marks for Amazon Business
Businesses large and small are partnering with Amazon Business to streamline procurement, control spending and elevate the employee experience. Here are just a few notable success stories:
- BHP – The global mining giant integrated Amazon Business with its SAP Ariba procurement software, and the result “has been a hit with our stakeholders,” the company said. “We have provided users with the Amazon shopping experience that they are familiar with in their personal lives, simplifying the corporate purchasing process. At the same time, we can maintain our standard purchasing process and controls with full visibility within SAP.”
- Orangetheory Fitness – The fitness franchise said it’s been a “no-brainer for us” to enable users to punch out of its Coupa Open Buy system and access Amazon Business. “Our employees love the improved ease of use, and we get even more spend-control capabilities, so everyone wins,” the company said.
