After initially accepting Amazon’s push into healthcare supply enthusiastically, hospitals are now cooling on the e-commerce giant’s efforts. Tatiana Darie reports for Bloomberg:
Amazon.com Inc.’s push into distribution of health-care supplies and equipment has lost momentum, according to a survey by UBS Group AG.
Hospital purchasing managers say they are buying fewer medical supplies from Amazon compared to last year, while increasing their purchases of office supplies from the online retailer, UBS analyst Kevin Caliendo wrote in a research note on Monday. One reason could be that respondents are seeing “less discounting” for medical supplies, but it’s unclear whether Amazon discounts are lower or if wholesalers offered better deals in response to Amazon’s push in the sector, he said.
UBS’s survey found that while hospitals still expect to increase their supply purchases through Amazon over the next three years, the percentage of respondents in talks for sourcing agreements with Amazon has declined to 7% from 11% last year. The bank surveyed 100 purchasing managers.
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