Podcast Summary: Supply Chain Now

Episode: How AI and Innovation are Reshaping Procurement, featuring Todd Heimes with Amazon Business
Date: December 8, 2025
Host: Scott Lewton
Guest: Todd Heimes, Vice President, Amazon Business
Location: Amazon Reshape 2025, Seattle

Episode Overview

This episode offers an in-depth conversation between Supply Chain Now’s Scott Lewton and Todd Heimes, VP of Amazon Business. They discuss Todd’s extensive experience at Amazon, the evolution and core philosophy behind Amazon Business, and—most centrally—how AI and innovation are transforming procurement for businesses of every size. The two also highlight Amazon’s approach to customer success, recent AI-driven product launches, and the democratization of business tools for SMBs.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Personal Journeys and Seattle Insights

• Seattle beyond tourism: Todd recommends visitors take the Bainbridge Island ferry for stunning views and a break from the city, sharing his local insights (01:12).
• Amazon tenure: Todd reflects on over 26 years at Amazon, highlighting his hands-on role in launching Amazon Business internationally, particularly in Europe, Japan, and India (02:31).

Quote: "We have customers that are small companies, sole props, SMBs, all the way up to the largest organizations in the world...and sometimes you find that you're making choices between building solutions for [small] or for those really large organizations, and we struggle...and still today the answer is both."
— Todd Heimes (04:10)

2. Amazon Business: Origins and DNA

• Customer-first product design: Amazon Business was shaped by demand for the same seamless experience as Amazon’s consumer site.
• Think Big leadership: Todd shares how the “think big” mantra from Jeff Bezos still underpins every enterprise initiative (05:09).

Quote: "One of our leadership principles is think big. And it was really [Bezos'] vision to really scale the ability that we had to put items in boxes and send them out...and then additional businesses. And that just continued all the way into serving business customers."
— Todd Heimes (05:11)

3. Role and Passion for Customer Impact

• Todd now leads Amazon Business’ small business unit worldwide, the global marketing team, the Business Prime team, and international expansion (06:22).
• Veteran support: Mention of Amazon Warriors, an internal group supporting veterans, showcasing Amazon’s culture initiatives (07:01).

4. Customer Experience as a Differentiator

• B2C principles in B2B: Business customers want—and now receive—the same intuitive platform, quick shipping, and robust data as retail users (07:40).
• Consistency across users: Amazon seeks a “no training required” experience, scaling easily for organizations (10:20).

Quote: "No training required to use Amazon Business...They can start using it immediately because of that same experience that they have in their consumer world."
— Todd Heimes (10:20)

5. Major Themes from Amazon Reshape: AI and Innovation

• Across sessions, “innovation” and “AI” dominate discussion.
• Critical focus on using AI to “86 drudgery” from procurement and unlock efficiency (11:03).
• AI is just at the beginning: Anticipation that the coming years will reshape procurement beyond what we can imagine (12:58).

Quote: "Look, we're just at the beginning. [AI] is going to change the way we do procurement."
— Todd Heimes (12:18)

6. Favorite Customer Story: Carnival Cruise Lines

• Complex supply, simplified: Highlights how Amazon Business helps Carnival quickly restock ships in port within an 18-hour window, demonstrating the real impact of procurement innovation (14:54).

7. AI Announcements and New Capabilities

• Amazon Business Assistant: AI-powered assistant offering conversational help for setting approvals, plan selection, and maximizing Amazon Business accounts (18:48).
• Spend Anomaly Feature: Uses AI to flag unusual spending patterns, reducing the need for manual audits and supporting faster, more predictive decision-making (18:48-20:18).

Quote: "This Amazon Business Assistant is going to really, in a conversational way, make it easy for customers to ask, 'I want to set up some approvals. How can I do that? Which Business Prime plan should I get?'..."
— Todd Heimes (19:04)

Quote: "The Spend Anomaly tool will help you pick up things like spend in a new category or above a certain spend threshold...and make some adjustments."
— Todd Heimes (19:40)

8. AI-Driven Democratization of Procurement Tools

• Leveling up SMBs: AI and big data enable SMB customers to access the same tools as enterprise clients, removing historic barriers (21:06).
• Democratization: Making sophisticated, efficiency-driving tools broadly accessible is an ongoing mission for Amazon Business (21:59).

Quote: "An SMB really can get the same amount of tools that a really large organization has access to through the power now of big data and AI. So I encourage SMBs to lean in, use the tools and benefit from all of this innovation."
— Todd Heimes (21:06)

9. Advice for Supply Chain Leaders

• Todd recommends a strong focus on data management—“good data in, good data out”—to weather uncertainty and sustain velocity in supply chain operations (22:52).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We’re going to do both.” (04:10) – Todd’s enduring mantra of serving businesses of all sizes.
• “AI is just at the beginning. This is going to change the way we do procurement.” (12:18) – The promise of AI to reshape the field.
• “No training required to use Amazon Business.” (10:20) – Emphasis on intuitive design.
• “An SMB really can get the same amount of tools that a really large organization has access to through...big data and AI.” (21:06) – On the democratization of procurement technology.
• “Good data in, good data out.” (22:52) – Todd’s key advice for supply chain practitioners.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro, Seattle tips (00:10-01:57)
• Amazon tenure and business reflections (02:31-05:11)
• Current role and culture at Amazon (06:22-07:22)
• Core value of customer experience (07:40-10:20)
• Major event themes: AI and Innovation (11:03-13:25)
• Passion for customers and the Carnival Cruises case study (13:52-15:32)
• AI: Present and future in procurement (16:29-17:39)
• Amazon AI product announcements (18:40-20:18)
• Democratization of technology for SMBs (21:06-21:59)
• Advice for supply chain leaders (22:52-23:29)

Conclusion

This conversation provides a front-row seat to how Amazon Business drives innovation by blending the consumer DNA with enterprise capability, powered by AI. The episode is rich with practical insights for supply chain practitioners at all levels, focusing on efficiency, intuition, and inclusivity—showcasing how technology, when paired with relentless customer focus, is democratizing procurement in real-time.

Connect with Todd Heimes:
Find Todd on LinkedIn for updates on Amazon Business developments and stories.