Amazon announced an expansion of its Dash replenishment system this week, forming partnerships with manufacturers of printers to pet food dispensers. Dash buttons were launched last year to much attention, but the real star of the show is just emerging, Dash Replenishment Services (DRS).
Designed to integrate with smart, connected devices, DRS will automatically order replenishment product when an item is running low. Imagine never running out of ink for your printer ever again. Through Amazon’s DRS program, developers can add 10 lines of code to their product and enable it to integrate with the consumer’s Amazon account. The device, sticking with the printer example, monitors the ink supply and sends a replenishment order to Amazon when it detects the ink supply is running low. The consumer then has 24 hours to cancel the order. Amazon hasn’t released much detail on whether or not the consumer can order from preferred vendors, or if Amazon chooses to fulfill the replenishment request from the lowest-priced manufacturer. Despite the additional information needed, it is a good reminder that the consumer is gaining access to additional ways to order product, some of which don’t require any activity on the consumer’s behalf.
For more information, check out this article from Fortune.