Lightspeed is an all-in-one commerce platform founded in Montreal, Quebec. It specializes in point-of-sale and e-commerce software. It has more than 150,000 customers, spread over more than a hundred countries around the world. The company is present in France, mainly in the catering market. One of its particularities is to focus on Apple’s iOS mobile terminals – iPad and iPhone.
“We offer a demo version of our cash register software on the App Store,” says Laura Stagno, Head of Sales France at Lightspeed. “Interested restaurateurs can discover our offer before contacting us, so that we can offer them a tailor-made solution. The cash register software is the heart of a restaurant’s reactor: it is therefore necessary to be able to propose an adapted offer, because a family restaurant does not have the same needs as a chain of restaurants, a fast food establishment or a food truck. “. Similarly, Lightspeed offers solutions suitable for fine dining restaurants and resorts.
The offer is offered by subscription, with a back-end in SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) mode, an iOS front-end and data stored in Europe, on Amazon’s public cloud. All in compliance with the NF525 certification, dedicated to collection management software, made compulsory in 2018, in order – mainly – to fight against fraud. The Lightspeed offer is of course also compliant with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).
A changing world
The world of catering is changing, with the rise of food trucks, click & collect and the phenomenon of dark kitchens. Fundamental movements undeniably accelerated by the health crisis.
“At first, everyone looked at each other wondering what was going to happen and how to react,” explains Laura Stagno. “But fairly quickly the restaurateurs adapted, driven by the desire to continue working and the need to sell their stocks. For many, this was a trigger for the switch to digital, with the launch of new offers such as takeaway sales. »
The shift was also sudden on the side of customers, forced to resort to delivery or take-out sales during the periods of the harshest health restrictions. The Lightspeed Order Anywhere offer has proven to be perfectly suited to this change, as it is able to manage the different modes of consumption: on the spot or to take away, with the possibility of paying online or at the time of collection. The platform’s offer has also been able to integrate new uses and functionalities over the years, such as inventory management, staff management, loyalty cards, support for QR codes for payment, etc.
A transformation destined to be long-term?
Some of these practices should continue despite the end of the crisis, such as QR codes allowing you to consult a restaurant menu on your smartphone, or order terminals at the entrance to fast food establishments.
“Food tech is in turmoil in France, observes Laura Stagno. Digital, which was seen as a cost, is increasingly seen as an investment, with ROI [retour sur investissement, NDLR] palpable. It makes it possible to optimize the journey of customers, but also the work of the employees of a restaurant. We give them the tools to work better, more efficiently. An asset that could help entrepreneurs to retain their employees, and thus participate in responding to the shortage of talent observed in the catering sector.