Amazon lets customers order consumables directly from connected devices

Amazon DRS
ON THE BUTTON: Amazon’s Dash Replenishment automatically reorders consumables

Consumers can now automatically re-order consumables around their home using Amazon’s Dash Replenishment Service (DRS), a new facility that works with a wide range of home appliances, medical monitoring equipment and computer printers.

“Customers who already own a compatible Brother printer can start taking advantage of Dash Replenishment immediately, and the General Electric washer and Gmate device will be ready by the end of the month,” Amazon says. “There is no need to buy a new device, just sign up to activate Amazon Dash Replenishment.

“New brands and devices have joined the Dash Replenishment program, including Purell soap and hand sanitizer and the Whirlpool Smart Dishwasher. Brands that want to incorporate Dash Replenishment Service into their connected devices can now easily access the APIs to start an integration.

“DRS enables connected devices to automatically order physical goods from Amazon when supplies are running low — for example, a Brother printer that will order toner or ink when it’s needed.”

Integration options

“Device makers can either build a physical button into their hardware to reorder consumables or they can measure consumable usage so that reordering happens automatically — for example, an automatic pet food dispenser made with built-in sensors can measure the amount of pet food remaining in its container and place an order before running out,” Amazon adds.

“DRS APIs are now broadly available for integration into any device that can connect to the internet, either directly or through a proxy. Developers can start an integration today with as few as 10 lines of code using simple HTML containers and Rest API calls.

“Whether large corporations or hobbyists, device makers can use Dash Replenishment Service to place orders on behalf of their customers without having to build the back-end infrastructure to fulfill orders — Amazon does this work for them, leveraging its authentication and payment systems, customer service and fulfillment network.”

A video gives an overview of the Dash Replenishment Service:

“With Amazon Dash Replenishment, we want to make customers’ lives even easier so they won’t run out of items like laundry detergent, pet food or printer ink again,” says Daniel Rausch, director of devices at Amazon. “Customers simply activate Dash Replenishment when they are setting up their connected device and then rely on Amazon to automatically deliver those everyday essentials.”

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