Lixto Inc. has introduced the 2011 version of its Price Intelligence Suite. The tool is a Web extraction and analysis system which allows sales, pricing and financial management functions to obtain up-to-date views on competitors' pricing strategies. Users can monitor information on thousands of products and price points across multiple websites. Delivered under a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, the suite helps companies better to understand competitive pricing, qualitative rankings, and the impact of those changes on consumers and the competition, the vendor said. Updates in version 2.0 focus on advanced market analytics, price optimization planning and the integration of qualitative information. New features enhance functionality in comprehensive modeling, "what-if" analyses and the accurate analysis of competitor pricing. With the help of aggregated analytics, users can obtain more detailed information on market dynamics for specified product categories and competitors. Features related to price optimization planning include "meet-or-beat" forecasting with and without shipping charges, and the measurement and simulation of price competitiveness in multiple, user-specified categories. The new version also adds qualitative customer rankings and review data.
