The Dash Replenishment Service (DRS) allows electronic devices to automatically order new consumables, including cartridges.
First Post reported on DRS, which enables “connected devices that measure consumable usage”, such as printers, to “automatically order physical goods from Amazon when supplies are running low”. Of the printer OEMs, Samsung is the second after Brother to partner with Amazon for cartridges with DRS, which could create issues for remanufacturers and third-party suppliers.
Building on the retailer’s Dash button, which allows users to “reorder frequently used products with the simple press of a button”, DRS allows internet connected devices to order replacement consumable products “automatically when supplies run low”. The devices’ sensors or “other mechanisms” that would detect supply levels work with DRS to “reliably determine when to trigger an order”.
The retailer notes that the service adds “convenience and ease for both customers and device makers alike”, as customers can “rely on the connected device to automatically reorder the consumables”. It added that for OEMs, DRS also “makes it easy to add reordering functionality to their devices to deliver a helpful and differentiated experience for customers”.
In more detail, Samsung’s combination with DRS will see its laser printers and Mobile Print App “virtually connect” to devices to “accurately monitor toner usage” before “automatically order[ing]” new toner cartridges from Amazon. Amazon also stated that integration for DRS “is easy” and can be started “with as few as 10 lines of code”, and OEMs “don’t have to build the back-end infrastructure to fulfil orders”, as Amazon “does this work for them”.