(Bloomberg)—Amazon Business, though often cited by distributors as a competitive threat, is struggling to win primary office-supply contracts with large companies, Amazon Business vice president Prentis Wilson testified in federal court yesterday. Wilson’s testimony, delivered in a case brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that seeks to block a pending merger of office products giants Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc., undercut Staples’ argument that the merger would help Staples and Office Depot deal with competition from Amazon and other companies.

Wilson testified in a Washington courtroom that Amazon has made only limited efforts to obtain such contracts from companies with more than $250 million in revenue and has won only one bid. Amazon Business, which debuted a year ago when it succeeded AmazonSupply.com, is Amazon’s third foray into the business-to-business marketplace.

Wilson was called to testify by the FTC, which sued Staples in December seeking to block its merger with Office Depot. The agency says that the two companies dominate the market for sales to large corporate customers and the tie-up would lead to higher prices.

Staples and Office Depot argue the FTC’s request to block their merger should be denied. They contend Amazon is a “behemoth” that is expanding rapidly in the market and winning business. That makes it a formidable competitor, the companies say.

Wilson said the Seattle-based retailer hasn’t answered all the requests for bids it has received because it doesn’t have the right resources, citing on-site stocking of shelves as one example.

When asked by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan whether the company was likely to be in a better position to respond five years from now, Wilson replied, “That’s our plan.”

Wilson is scheduled to continue his testimony on Wednesday.

Jennifer Rie, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, said that the prospect of future competition from a new player should still be taken into consideration.

“The Amazon witness made it fairly clear that Amazon Business is working and investing resources to be a vigorous competitor to Staples and Office Depot in the B-to-B office supplies segment,” Rie said.

The case is FTC v. Staples Inc., 15-02115, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Washington).

In an open letter to their customers last week, Staples and Office Depot contended that the FTC was using a “flawed analysis” in trying to block the merger. “The transaction is good for customers of all sizes,” the companies say in the letter, which was signed by Staples chairman and CEO Ron Sargent and Office Depot chairman and CEO Roland Smith. “The combined company will be positioned to better serve the changing needs of business customers and compete more effectively against a large and diverse set of competitors.

“The FTC’s actions to stop this transaction are based on a flawed analysis of the marketplace and a deep misunderstanding of the competitive landscape. The FTC has cherry picked a few facts to fit its narrative and support its case. In making its case, the FTC refuses to even acknowledge the rise of new competitors, such as Amazon, and the disruptive effects of the digital economy.”

Amazon is No. 87 in the B2B E-Commerce 300; Staples is No. 21 and Office Depot No. 42.

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