Simplify, scale, succeed: Scott Branum on the power of the Aliquot platform

What is the primary purpose of the Aliquot software platform?

Aliquot supports the entire customer life cycle by integrating inventory management, scheduling, IoT connectivity, annual reporting, and comprehensive data aggregation, ensuring a seamless and data-driven approach to customer engagement.

Service reports play a crucial role in the customer life cycle within the water treatment industry.  They not only document the work performed but also capture essential system-related field data, which is a key value proposition. Aliquot empowers users to create custom service reports that clearly communicate the work completed and the value delivered to customers. Additionally, it provides an immutable electronic record of each service visit, including detailed observations and recommendations that customers need to be aware of.

How does Aliquot enable customers to get more business value from their data?

Industries today are overwhelmed with data, yet less than 30% is typically utilized to create meaningful business value. This gap exists for several reasons, including the absence of well-defined use cases, limited internal expertise, and insufficient access to advanced analytical tools. One of the most significant challenges is data silos, which prevent organizations from fully harnessing their data's potential. 

Aliquot addresses this challenge by aggregating diverse data sources into a single, unified platform. It centralizes field results, customer rounds, inventory levels, lab reports, controller time series data, photos, checklists, and more. By bringing all this critical information together, Aliquot empowers users to unlock hidden business value, turning previously fragmented data into actionable insights.

What are the key Aliquot features that helps users help reduce costs, better manage their business and increase service efficiencies?

In the water treatment industry, manpower and chemical inventory typically account for more than 60% of a service provider’s costs. Even small improvements in managing these variables can significantly impact financial performance. Aliquot enhances visibility into chemical inventory, usage, and application across all customer sites. It helps identify overfeed or underfeed issues early, enabling quick corrective action to optimize chemical usage and reduce waste.

Improvements in managing manpower and chemical inventory can significantly impact a service provider’s financial performance

Inefficient service often stems from a lack of visibility and inadequate tools. Aliquot’s scheduling functionality improves service management by ensuring technicians are deployed efficiently and that all contractual service obligations are met — critical factors in securing contract renewals.

Additionally, generating service reports is a time-consuming process that can accumulate significantly over the year. Aliquot streamlines this by reducing report creation time by 25%. Technicians can create and share reports on-site, providing immediate feedback to customers before leaving, which enhances customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

How does Aliquot help drive business process standardization and improve the end customer’s experience?

The general definition of service is the act of performing work for someone or providing assistance, often in exchange for payment. However, as we all know, service experiences can vary greatly — there are both positive and negative examples. The key to ensuring a positive customer experience is clarity and specification in the service process.

Aliquot enables users to customize service templates that outline specific tasks, required data, observations, and job functions in an easy-to-follow format. Technicians can follow these structured work instructions on any mobile device, ensuring consistency in service outcomes. Additionally, technicians receive immediate feedback on the data they collect, empowering them to make informed, on-site decisions and improvements.

Furthermore, the collected information is shared with customers, who acknowledge receipt, ensuring that the value of the service visit is clearly communicated. Aliquot promotes service standardization with defined outcomes, helping to clearly articulate the value of the work performed to customers. This approach fosters consistency, transparency, and trust.

What tools does Aliquot offer to help businesses be more resilient?

Employee turnover is a significant challenge in the water industry. While the average turnover rate in the U.S. is around 41%, it is likely somewhat lower for the water treatment sector. However, each departing employee takes valuable local and institutional knowledge with them. It typically takes 8 to 26 weeks for a new hire to reach full productivity, which can disrupt service continuity and increase costs.

Aliquot acts as a comprehensive historical repository of completed work, recommendations, reports, and associated data

Aliquot addresses this issue by acting as a comprehensive historical repository of completed work, recommendations, reports, and associated data. It provides new employees with standardized service templates, which help streamline workflows and reduce the time needed to become fully effective. Additionally, new hires gain access to detailed historical data and insights, offering crucial context about specific customers or applications.

Another critical challenge in the water industry is the risk of litigation. Aliquot mitigates this risk by maintaining digital, immutable records of all service activities, ensuring that accurate documentation is available to protect the business in the event of legal disputes.