The Amazon Dash Button has been hotly debated in all forms of media over the last week. Readers of Germany’s “Stern” magazine, for example, had a very clear opinion. More than 70% answered the question “What do you think about the Amazon Dash Button?” with the answer “A load of rubbish”. (Source: stern.de) Why has the response to the Amazon Dash Button, which aims to make a lot of peoples’ lives easier, been so negative?

Lots of arguments against the Dash Button

There are apparently many arguments. After its introduction on the German market, the Dash Button is being hotly debated. Data privacy advocates warn of the possible misuses of the button’s new features. Consumer advocates warn of a lack of price transparency when ordering. Usability experts raise the question of how many Dash Buttons it is sensible to have in a household and we’re wondering what actual benefits they would have for us. But where is all this aversion coming from? After all, with the Dash Button Amazon is the only company offering us a product integrated in everyday life that reflects the ideas of pervasive computing and the internet of things.

The Dash Button is currently only aimed at a specific target audience

Amazon was certainly aware that the Dash Button wouldn’t be mainstream at this stage and that it wouldn’t be every customer’s cup of tea. But we should also be clear that we are living in the world of connected commerce where the effect of the long tail is still valid because the target audience for the Dash Button may be small relatively speaking, but in absolute numbers is large enough to make the Dash Button a successful model for Amazon. Because, according to a survey by “Stern”, 10% of respondents clearly advocated the Dash Button. They said: “Great, I hate shopping in supermarkets!”

Could the real home of the Dash Button possibly be in B2B?

Another reason for the harsh criticism might be that the Dash Button was born in the “wrong world” – in the world of B2C e-commerce. Would it not actually be better suited in B2B e-commerce? Imagine a production operation. Synchronised supply chains, as well as just-in-time and just-in-sequence processes are already a reality in the area of series production. Demand impulses between manufacturers and suppliers synchronize the order and product flows here. But there are still a great number of processes that run manually.
Aside from the rigorously timed series production, there are plenty of production facilities that do not deal in large-scale production. They use machines and tools that need to be serviced at irregular intervals. Replacing and topping up auxiliary and operating materials is also performed according to need. In this scenario, the Amazon Dash Button could optimise internal logistics. If attached to the respective machines, it could be used for various materials or even maintenance services. Orders placed would go to the warehouse or requests to the servicing and maintenance service provider. Using the buttons, internal processes can be initiated and the costs allocated to the correct cost units. If equipped with NFC and the “Purchaser” code carrier, it would even be possible to assign the respective purchaser and thus ensure that only authorised individuals can submit material orders or service requests.
If we take a step back from the manufacturing industry and consider everyday office life, the Dash Button could also be of use in such environments: for example, an employee takes the last pencil or notebook from the material store and immediately orders new products by pressing a button on the shelf. Orders that have been placed can, if desired, be combined into a weekly or monthly order and the order is then automatically submitted at the specified time.
There will certainly be many scenarios like this where the Dash Button could make life a lot simpler. Without any security concerns.

The Dash Button – an exciting first evolutionary step

The Amazon Dash Button is a first mover product of its kind. However, it hasn’t necessarily been greeted with the appropriate levels of euphoria, but instead with a great deal of scepticism. “I am convinced that the Dash Button in its current form will not survive the next two years. But maybe that wasn’t even the idea behind it,” said Gerd Güldenast, Managing Director of hmmh. The Dash Button is a new generation of device that will evolve over the next few years and find new fields of application. It is a further step in the integration of connected commerce in everyday life, in order to improve and simplify life.

Maybe the Amazon Dash Button will find a wonderful home in B2B commerce.

This article was also published at internetworld.de.

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