Dive Brief:

• Amazon has launched the Amazon Dash Smart Shelf to restock supplies for business customers. The shelf uses a built-in scale to determine the quantity of a selected item and senses, via weight, when the product is almost out of stock.

• The Dash Smart Shelf comes in three sizes and allows users to switch up the product it measures. When supply runs low, users can receive notifications or turn on automatic reordering. Users will save up to 15% on items from select partners, including Bic, Folgers, Keurig and 3M. 

• Amazon plans to offer the Dash Smart Shelf to all Amazon Business customers that have a registered U.S. business license starting in 2020, according to TechCrunch.

Dive Insight:

When Amazon stopped selling physical dash buttons for customers to reorder specific items from their homes, it seemed more like a beginning than an ending. "[W]e've always said we envision a future where you don't need to press a physical button in your home to order products," an Amazon spokesperson told Retail Dive at the time.

With this new release, though, Amazon is targeting business customers. 

The announcement may throw off the traditional office-supply giants striving to keep up with Amazon's break-neck development speed. Staples revamped its brand this spring with a line of private-label supplies, a new logo and a commitment to "helping professionals make their workplaces more productive and connected." Meanwhile, rival Office Depot reported in February that revenue from services had increased 18% year over year, while product sales had dipped. 

But it makes sense for Amazon to lean into the business space. With the majority of Amazon's third-party sellers being small and medium-sized businesses, the e-commerce giant may be making a business case to maintain a continued presence among those companies through the supply reordering process.