Amazon Business just released a new product that could be seen as either a blessing or a curse — it all depends on your point of view.
Introducing the Dash Smart Shelf.
Imagine a stockroom where LED bulbs or circuit breakers or conduits are all gathered where they belong on a shelf, but underneath that stack of conduits is a special gadget. It has a smart sensor. It keeps track of the inventory for you by weight and not only lets you know when you’re getting low on supplies but automatically reorders those supplies directly from Amazon which, in turn, ships it directly to you so you receive it the next day.
You will never run out of supplies again. You don’t need to take inventory. As a matter of fact, you may be able to cut inventory and supply costs in the long run by purchasing these systems. But would that mean shifting responsibilities or letting go of some of your personnel that handle only those duties?
Blessing or curse? You decide — we’re just here to give you the information.
This is from Amazon Business:
Last year, we announced that we were working with a variety of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across industries to help them take control of their replenishment needs by piloting Dash Smart Shelf in their businesses. Today, we’re excited to announce that Dash Smart Shelf – a new solution for those who want to spend less time managing inventory and supplies, and more time focusing on what matters most – is now available to purchase for Amazon Business customers and consumers.
Dash Smart Shelf is a weight-sensing, Wi-Fi-enabled auto-replenishment scale designed to take the hassle out of restocking office supplies, breakroom products, and other essentials for your business as well as your home. When placed on a flat surface, even wire and warehouse racks, it can track inventory for commonly used products, which can be ordered in single or multiple quantities directly through your Amazon Business or your personal account. It also works with storage bins and containers, and the included four AAA batteries can last for two or more years (or you can purchase an optional power cable if you prefer to plug in). Dash Smart Shelf is approximately 1-inch-tall, and comes in three sizes – small (7” x 7”), medium (12” x 10”), and large (18” x 13”).
Helping businesses focus on what’s most important
For SMBs, which make up 99 percent of businesses in the U.S., tracking inventory levels and reordering everyday business essentials like printer paper or coffee for the breakroom can be time-consuming and take away from more meaningful work. Dash Smart Shelf helps businesses take restocking essential supplies off their to-do list.
We developed Dash Smart Shelf, a new Amazon device, after hearing from our SMB customers that one problem they faced with inventory replenishment was that vendor-managed inventory could be inflexible, with restrictions based on minimum orders or service area. Also, automated replenishment and inventory management options available today are often tailored for industrial applications, and can be expensive and difficult to implement, placing them out of reach of many SMBs.
Dash Smart Shelf is our solution so that SMBs don’t have to choose between spending time with their customers or taking trips to the store to restock inventory.
“We have been using Dash Smart Shelf for a few months now and love its ease of use. This is a set-it-and-forget-it solution for buying repeat products from Amazon. We no longer have to count and keep track of inventory with the Smart Shelf. It knows when your inventory is low and automatically replenishes it based on your consumption rate. The best part is you don’t get stuck with extra inventory piling up.” — Chris Schneider, General Manager, McCay Tool + Engineering Co., Inc.
“As a direct care practice, we are always looking for ways to maximize staff efficiency so we can focus on caring for our patients. Dash Smart Shelf has been a great tool for streamlining the management of our office inventory. It takes minutes to set up, choose our preferred items, and then we receive alerts when it’s time to reorder. Dash Smart Shelf gives us peace of mind about restocking supplies and ensures that we never run out of coffee for our team or patients!” — Josh Umbehr, MD, co-founder of AtlasMD Family Practice
Saving consumers trips to the store
We received a lot of interest in Dash Smart Shelf as a consumer device during the pilot with SMB customers. The pilot demonstrated that consumers were also looking to be freed up from the mundane task of replenishing their household essentials. So we strived over the last year to deliver on that need. We are pleased to share that starting today, Dash Smart Shelf will also be available to consumers. Through low inventory notifications and automatic reorders, Dash Smart Shelf can give families peace of mind that they’ll never run out of household essentials like toilet paper, paper towels, laundry, and dishwashing detergent, or other vital items like baby supplies and pet food. Not only will it save them trips to the store, Dash Smart Shelf provides convenience and ongoing discounts on select products that customers purchase frequently.
Designed for convenience
Setting up Dash Smart Shelf is easy. Power on the device using the four AAA batteries, connect to Wi-Fi with the Amazon Shopping app, and then log in to your Amazon Business or personal account via the Amazon Shopping app to choose the product you want to reorder and customize your preferences. When it’s time to restock, Dash Smart Shelf can perform one of two functions: it can place a replenishment order for you automatically, or it can send you a notification when supplies are running low. You can also check on stock levels any time through the Amazon Shopping app. Dash Smart Shelf’s smart reordering technology helps prevent accidental reorders when you temporarily move or remove items from your device. You can also easily change the products, sizes, flavors, and more for items replenished from your Amazon Business account in the Amazon Shopping app.
Save money on select orders
Dash Smart Shelf supports automatic replenishment for thousands of popular products and we look forward to streamlining the process of reordering business and household essentials – helping you save money and prioritize your time. Amazon Business customers and consumers can save up to 25 percent on their first reorder of select products (including regularly used essentials such as K-Cup Pods from Keurig, printer paper from Hammermill, or paper towels from Kimberly Clark, among many others) and receive ongoing discounts on a wider range of products, if selected for automatic replenishment.
The same savings that are available to your organization when you purchase online from Amazon Business are also available through Dash Smart Shelf – providing another way to take advantage of the benefits of Amazon Business and automatically reorder many essential items that your organization buys frequently1.
For Amazon Business customers interested in purchasing any of the three size options of Dash Smart Shelf for $19.99, learn more here. If you don’t have an Amazon Business account, create a free one by clicking here.
Amazon Business customers can click here for a full list of supported brands and products, and consumers can visit https://www.amazon.com/dashsmartshelf for more information.