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Power your apps with forecasting
Enhancing your software solution by providing operational business forecasts is a straightforward way to create a great amount of added value for your customers. Through Lokad,
you can turn forecasting value into revenue with our
revenue sharing program and
competition differentiation with our
forecasting technology.
Download a
free case study about simplicity of adding business intelligence into software with Lokad Forecasting services.
Case Study (PDF) |
Source (ZIP) Lokad is already working with small and large
software companies. Yet,
we are still actively looking for partners especially with companies delivering products such as
- ERP / MRP / logistics
- eCommerce / payment provider
- staff management / call center management
- CRM / analytics / business intelligence
Your customers need forecasts
As soon as a replenishment order is made or an employee schedule is devised, an implicit demand forecast is made. Although, the process is not always formalized,
operational forecasts are unavoidable in most industries such as retail, manufacturing, logistics, customer services...
Wait a minute. We have that situation but we don't do any forecasting. Our response: oh yes you do. Someone, somewhere within your company is forecasting (and we will bet that the word "forecasting" is not in their job description). Sometime these "Forecasters" are in Purchasing. (...) Other folks who forecasts (even though is not in their job description) works in Production Planning and Scheduling. Sales Forecasting: A New Approach, By Thomas F. Wallace, Robert A. Stahl, 2002
Companies that implement accurate forecasting processes realize important benefits such as:
- Knowing when and how much to buy.
- Committing the resources at the right time to meet the customer demand.
- Better planning for production and capacity.
- Enhanced cash flow.
- Reducing the working capital.
Forecasts are also critical if the company is trying to obtain financing from investors or other lending institutions, they are used to determine the value of a business above the value of its current assets.
Yet, due to the drawbacks of traditional forecasting approaches,
forecasting is often is discarded by small or medium companies as too complicated and too expensive to be implemented.
We believe that Lokad is bringing
three answers to this situation.
Simplicity. Lokad requires zero statistical knowledge, neither from the partnering software editor, nor from the end users. Forecasts can be obtained in a single click.
Accuracy. Lokad leverages large amount of input data, and not only the sole data of a particular customer, to increase the accuracy of the delivered forecasts.
Reliability. Forecasts are continuously monitored and readjusted. Lokad delivers fully automated industrial strength services.
Forecasting is a source of revenue
Adding valuable new features is the key
to establishing recurrent revenues with your existing customer base. Lokad makes this very straightforward through our
revenue sharing program for partners.
But for your software product, adding a forecasting feature also means that you can either
increase the base price of your application or maintain its price in a very competitive environment. Maintenance releases aren't sufficient to achieve this.
With Lokad,
you can stay ahead of the competition by giving to your products a distinctive edge. Most business applications do not include any forecasting technology because those technologies used to be too complex to be implemented at a reasonable cost. But integrating Lokad is straightforward and painless.
Lokad charges a monthly
subscription that fits companies of all sizes from the smallest to the largest. The working capital savings and the cash flow enhancements brought by forecasting lead to immediate return on investment.
Partnering with Lokad
If you intend to integrate our forecasting technology, we can provide
- technical assistance during the implementation. Typically, a developer will be assigned to your case and will be available to help if difficulties are encountered.
- marketing assistance (if you wish to) to help you to communicate on your new forecasting capabilities with your customers.
Naturally, we also reference and advertise our partners both on
www.lokad.com and
blog.lokad.com.
If you think that your application can generate a significant amount of subscription revenue for Lokad, then we are open to discuss some
revenue sharing options. We suggest to
contact us for more details.
Implementing the integration
Through our
Forecasting API, the Lokad forecasting technology can be easily integrated into 3rd party applications (check our current
Partner Network).
Usually, a native integration can be achieved within two weeks by a single developer. Check our
developer's corner to learn more.