Amazon Business in the DACH region has passed the €6 billion mark. For mid-sized manufacturers and wholesalers, this is more than a headline. It is a signal: the B2B marketplace is no longer an experiment, but an established sales channel. The question is no longer whether Amazon Business is relevant, but how companies should deal with it strategically. Those who take the wrong turn now risk margin, customer loyalty, and control over their own sales. Those who act wisely use the marketplace as a growth lever, without putting their direct customer relationships at risk.
Why Amazon Business is becoming a strategic issue for B2B manufacturers
A sales director at a mid-sized industrial supplier recently said: “Our customers order from us - and at the same time from Amazon Business. We only noticed when reorder volumes dropped.” This situation is not unique. Over the past few years, Amazon Business has evolved from a “nice extra channel” into a serious B2B infrastructure. With more than six million registered business customers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland alone, the platform reaches target groups that are difficult to capture through traditional sales channels.
Amazon Business succeeds for three reasons: speed, availability, and simplicity. Buyers value fast delivery, transparent prices, and integration into existing procurement processes. For manufacturers, this means: if you are not present here, you leave the field to competitors and dealers. At the same time, being present on Amazon Business carries risks - from margin erosion and cannibalisation of direct sales to the loss of customer data. The decision whether and how to use Amazon Business should therefore not be left to chance.
The core dilemma: visibility versus control
Amazon Business offers reach - but at what price? This is exactly the central dilemma for mid-sized B2B manufacturers. On the one hand, there is the opportunity to reach thousands of new business customers with limited effort. On the other hand, there is the risk of losing control over prices, customer relationships, and margins. Based on more than 26 years of digital B2B sales work, Commerce Partner has seen companies fall into two extremes: either they ignore Amazon Business completely - or they jump in without a strategy and later wonder about shrinking margins and drifting loyal customers.
The reality is clear: Amazon Business works by its own rules. Anyone who wants to succeed here must understand that the marketplace is not a digital field sales team. Price transparency is ruthless, competitors are only a click away, and the platform itself acts as a powerful intermediary. Manufacturers that list their products without a clear pricing strategy often end up in a race to the bottom. On top of that, Amazon largely keeps customer data to itself. Anyone who sells only through the marketplace does not build their own customer relationship - they rent it.
Still, it would be wrong to reject Amazon Business across the board. Used correctly, the marketplace can serve as an acquisition channel to win new customers and later move them into your own B2B shop or customer portal. The key is to see Amazon Business as part of a multi-channel strategy - not as a replacement for your own direct sales.
Practical recommendations: where to use the marketplace, where to strengthen the direct channel
Mid-sized manufacturers and wholesalers should align their Amazon Business strategy to clear criteria. The following recommendations are based on experience from more than 2,500 B2B commerce projects:
Use Amazon Business for standardised products with strong demand. Items that have clear specifications, little need for explanation, and high search volumes perform well on marketplaces. Think of consumables, standard parts, or catalogue products. Here you can generate reach without having to reflect the full complexity of your range.
Keep products that require explanation and customer-specific solutions in your own channel. Individual configurations, technical advice, and tailored solutions belong in your own customer portal or B2B shop. Amazon Business is not the place for complex advisory processes. Anyone who tries to sell high-value solutions there will either fail or sacrifice margin.
Define clear price bands and product boundaries. Avoid cannibalisation by offering different items or pack sizes on Amazon Business than in direct sales. Use the marketplace to win new customers, not to give discounts to existing ones. A clean pricing strategy prevents your own customers from leaving because they find better terms on Amazon.
Invest in your own B2B sales channel at the same time. Amazon Business should never be your only digital sales platform. Companies that rely solely on marketplaces lose control in the long run. Build your own B2B shop or customer portal that reflects your processes, captures customer data, and manages repeat purchases. That is the only way to create lasting value.
Use Amazon Business as a test channel for new markets. If you want to expand internationally, Amazon Business can be a cost-effective entry point to test demand before investing in your own infrastructure. The marketplace handles logistics, payment processing, and customer service - ideal conditions for quick market testing.
Conclusion: marketplace as a complement, not a replacement
Amazon Business is a fact - and it will keep growing. Mid-sized manufacturers and wholesalers should neither ignore the B2B marketplace nor embrace it uncritically. The right strategy lies in between: use Amazon Business selectively for reach and new customer acquisition, but keep control over your most valuable customer relationships and your core range. Anyone who does not invest in their own digital direct sales today will depend on marketplaces tomorrow.
Since 1999, Commerce Partner has supported mid-sized B2B companies in building digital sales channels strategically - from marketplace strategy to their own B2B shop and system integration. If you want to know how to integrate Amazon Business sensibly into your sales architecture without putting margins and customer loyalty at risk, arrange a free 30-minute strategy call at www.commerce-partner.com/kontakt.
