They were recently voted best travel wallet and named #1 ski pass holder by one of the biggest ski resorts in Colorado, but that’s not what FLEXX ID owners Harold and Mauritha Hughes are most proud of. They’re excited about the healthcare and public service professionals that now have access to their versatile wearable ID holders and wallets through diversity certifications. With Amazon Business, their certifications help agencies and organizations with government supplier diversity initiatives find FLEXX ID products
It’s their mission full-circle, they said, as the exposure through Amazon Business allows the Hughes to help the very people their product was designed to support. FLEXX ID was created out of necessity, by Harold, an active-duty firefighter. In 2017 he was performing CPR and his lanyard, which held his government ID, was dangling in the way. He quickly tucked the lanyard into his shirt and continued chest compressions, but the experience left him thinking there had to be a better way.
His entire career was based on being ready at a moment’s notice. “Why can’t IDs be ready when we are?” he thought. FLEXX ID fixes that. The versatile wearable ID holders and wallets, integrated with either RFID enabling or blocking technology, provide a hands-free, safe alternative to lanyards and traditional wallets.
“With Amazon Business we have exposure to buyers and procurement managers looking for alternatives to lanyards,” said Mauritha Hughes. “Amazon’s recognition of our certifications has expanded our base and made it easy for government [customers] who represent healthcare, public service, transportation, and hospitality industries to find our products.”
More than 90 of the 100 most populous local governments in the U.S. now buy on Amazon Business. It’s a shift in the public sector towards B2B ecommerce stores to reduce barriers to entry for small businesses like FLEXX ID. In response, Amazon Business is helping small businesses like FLEXX ID be seen by agencies with supplier diversity initiatives.
Companies can set a ‘Diversity Certifications Policy’ to highlight products sold by sellers who hold select certifications, like small, minority, woman, veteran, and LGBT-owned businesses. The Hughes are certified Small Business, Minority or Women-owned Business (MWBE), Airport Concessions Disadvantage Business Enterprise (ACDBE) and Black-owned Business, allowing their FLEXX ID products to appear when those preferences are selected by agencies.
“Access to Amazon’s tools and customers gave our small business what we needed to launch,” said Harold Hughes. “I would have had to access a considerable amount of capital to launch FLEXX ID on my own and have the same type of visibility that Amazon has provided.”
Certification is just one of the tools the Hughes are leveraging to grow and protect their business as they lean into Amazon. The Hughes signed up with Amazon’s Transparency program when they decided to start selling. It’s protected the FLEXX ID brand by ensuring that every unit shipped is authentic. “It gives me peace of mind, knowing that I am protected,” said Harold. “It’s one worry off my plate, that comes with partnering with Amazon.”
Through Seller University, the Hughes have access to a library of free resources to help FLEXX ID scale. Webinars give them access to Amazon product and business experts, where they can ask questions on how best to leverage Amazon’s tools.
“We’ve learned how to use Amazon’s analytics and dashboards to give us an advantage,” said Mauritha Hughes. “They show us which business sectors and industries are buying our products, and then we tailor our brand marketing and advertising campaigns to reach those businesses and buyers.”
The Hughes are looking at utilizing Amazon’s Global Logistics soon, which allows distributors to ship directly to the Amazon fulfillment network. It would give the pair much needed time back, as they look at launching new products this year. And, whether it’s skiers or firefighters, they know their FLEXX ID products are getting where they need to go with Amazon.