PRINT
IT
RESELLER.UK
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CANON EXPO
Amazon is exploiting the opportunities presented by the Internet of
Things (IoT) with the launch of a new service called Amazon Dash
Replacement Service (DRS).
Initially only available in the US, DRS simplifies the ordering of consumables
for a wide range of consumer and business devices and enables manufacturers to
take advantage of Amazon’s authentication and payment systems and fulfilment
network.
Amazon offers manufacturers two ways to implement DRS. They can either
build a button into a device that the user must press to order new supplies; or the
machine itself can monitor supplies and automatically order replacements as soon
as they are needed.
This type of managed service is already familiar to many printer users, through
entry-level managed print services (MPS) offered by vendors and resellers to
business customers, and through new consumer offerings, notably HP’s Instant Ink.
DRS extends automatic consumables ordering to any device that can connect to
the internet directly or through a proxy. In addition to printers from Samsung and
Brother, DRS will be offered with Brita water jugs that will automatically order new
filters; pet food dispensers that will place orders when supplies are getting low;
Sealed Air soap dispensers; and a smart lock that orders new batteries when they
are needed.
Supplies are ordered from Amazon itself or from a supplier’s own Amazon.com
store with fulfilment by Amazon.
DRS is currently in beta, but will be made publicly available to manufacturers
and their customers in the autumn.
Amazon would not say if or when DRS will be launched in the UK. However, UK
e-commerce fulfilment specialist ParcelHero believes that Amazon’s new one-hour
online groceries delivery service in Birmingham and London is paving the way for a
UK launch.
David Jinks, ParcelHero’s head of public relations, said: “As ground-breaking as
the launch of the Amazon Fresh one-hour delivery service is in the UK, it is clearing
the way for something even more significant in the long-term, its ‘Internet of
Things’ service Dash. Dash will eventually enable your fridge to automatically order
your milk or pizza when you run out, or your coffee machine to know when you
need your next Espresso or Caremelito.”
He added: “The warehousing and logistics needed for launching Fresh will
also underpin the Dash service. In a number of US cities where Amazon Fresh
is available, Dash has already been introduced. Over 500 products are now
available in the US for instant order through Dash, including Tide, Kraft Foods and
Hershey’s. At the moment users literally tap a button attached to their fridge or
other appliances to order without fuss, but the technology is already available to
enable freezers etc. to keep track of various products and send a replenish order
automatically.”
Dash for deliveries
Samsung and Brother are among the first manufacturers to
take advantage of Amazon’s new just-in-time consumables
delivery service
The Versatile Collaboration System
(VCS), combining a 2D/3D digital
camera, projector and movement
sensor, lets you scan documents and
3D objects, project images onto larger
surfaces and edit said images in
real-time using intuitive gestures. The
all-in-one unit can even recognise
and extract data from documents
and transfer it to back-end systems.
Canon’s Mixed Reality (MREAL) technology
immerses the wearer into computer-
generated imagery so that they can view
and interact with
prototypes in
360°.
