Called AbilityOne Storefront, the new B2B site sells products and services made by people who are blind or have other significant disabilities.
This program, administered by the U.S. AbilityOne Commission and its Authorised Agencies, also provides products and services to the federal government through non-profits that employ individuals who are blind or have significant disabilities. Thanks to mandatory source of supply agreements with the government, the program employs approximately 40,000 people and generated $2.1 billion in revenue in 2022.
The new branded storefront on Amazon Business will make AbilityOne products, particularly those sold under the National Industries for the Blind's SKILCRAFT brand, more visible and easier to purchase. This will be achieved through leveraging Amazon's brand value and customer interface, with hope of a positive bottom-line impact for AbilityOne vendors. The storefront will also streamline the procurement process through bulk procurement features aimed at automating permissions and approvals for staff teams.
By boosting the sales of AbilityOne vendors, the program can pump greater financial resources back into charitable concerns while creating cost-savings in welfare benefits for the American taxpayer. The partnership between AbilityOne and Amazon Business is expected to meet the evolving needs of the governmentand support the employment of Americans who are blind or have significant disabilities.
Disability employment initiatives have faced criticism in some quarters for being siloed and prone to worker exploitation, but they represent a fantastic opportunity for workers who may have otherwise been excluded from the workforce to upskill and make a valuable economic contribution. By partnering with an online retail giant, the future of AbilityOne should be more secure too.
Source: Forbes.com
If you want to know more about this matter: Amazon Business Launches New AbilityOne Storefront To Advance Inclusive Procurement (forbes.com)