Real-time success
A GOLD Coast technology company has launched a cloud-based plug-in it believes will help small business “Davids” take on Amazonlike “Goliaths”.
AutoYield has been launched to the market to assist businesses to maximise turnover, while offering customers real-time pricing, based on supply and demand.
CEO Martin McConnachie is the brains behind the technology.
The IT industry veteran, who has worked in the sector for close to four decades, said yield management or dynamic pricing has been around for a long time.
“But AutoYield does it in real time based on what is happening right up to the minute,” he said.
“It has been practised for many years, but it has been done historically. We do it in real time so it is sensitive to the market. And that took a lot of development to get where it is today.”
Mr McConnachie said businesses, particularly small-to-medium sized enterprises, needed technology they could use to read the market quickly and react accordingly.
“This is all about levelling the playing field for all pricesensitive businesses at a time when some might be intimidated by the emerging giants such as Amazon,” Mr McConnachie said.
“The smaller online companies can now compete with the big guys in real time. It’s game on. There can be an army of Davids to take on the Amazon-like Goliaths.”
Mr McConnachie, who 10 years ago launched Allotz – a channel management system for hotel and serviced apartment operators – said the plug-in had applications for a number of industries.
“These are travel agencies, cruise ship lines, airlines, car rental companies, the heavy freight sector, the taxi industry and online retailers,” he said.
“The applications are huge for this sort of technology. And it is not about taking. It is about evening out transactional loads. It will encourage people to use facilities and services at off-peak times.”
Mr McConnachie said the technology differed from that used by ride-sharing service Uber, which employs a ‘surge’ charge when demand is high.
This tool encourages customers to use the service or facility offered at lowpeak times because they benefit from lower prices.
Mr McConnachie said the product is generating interest from a number of companies, and he is confident it will take off and become the industry standard.