Case Study
Scaling Sustainability: A Cloud-Native IoT Analytics Platform for an Innovative Beverage Brand
See how ClearScale enabled a sustainable beverage innovator, to launch and scale its fleet of connected beverage systems with a secure, serverless AWS platform that delivers real-time machine health, inventory, and commercial insights.
Client Profile
Overview
To support its mission, the Client launched a pilot fleet of connected beverage systems across various U.S. customer locations in partnership with Culligan Quench (CQ). To manage this growth, they required a robust, secure, and near-real-time data platform capable of transforming raw machine telemetry into actionable business intelligence. ClearScale was engaged to design and implement a cloud-native solution on AWS that integrates operational data with commercial insights.
Meet Our Hero
Global Commercial Director at the company, is the visionary driving the company’s operational oversight and commercial expansion. His objective was to move beyond manual reporting and establish a data-driven foundation that could guide key business and investment decisions during company’s broader rollout.
The Goal
The primary goal was to develop a pilot-ready IoT platform and a suite of interactive dashboards that provide a single source of truth for machine health, consumable inventory, and customer engagement. This platform needed to support operational efficiency, ensure timely replenishment of supplies, and prove the commercial viability of the capsule-based model through precise KPI tracking.
The Challenge
Challenge 01
Fleet Fragmentation: Monitoring and managing a geographically dispersed fleet of pilot devices required centralized, real-time visibility.
Challenge 02
Data Integration Complexity: The Client needed to blend technical telemetry (CO2 levels, usage, uptime) with business data (refills, lease status, NPS) from various CRM and service platforms.
Challenge 03
Legacy Connectivity Constraints: The solution had to adapt to existing telemetry infrastructures, specifically the KPN Things platform, rather than a greenfield IoT Core setup.
Challenge 04
Dynamic Operational Rules: Calculating KPIs required complex timing logic, such as measuring uptime only during specific business hours and tracking 30-day “active” status from specific installation dates.
Challenge 05
Manual Processes: Initial reliance on CSV uploads for non-telemetry data required a structured, automated ingestion pipeline to reduce human error.
The Solution
Step 01: AWS Foundational Landing Zone
Established a secure, multi-account environment with isolated VPCs and robust logging/monitoring to ensure data integrity and governance.
Step 02: Serverless Data Ingestion
Leveraged AWS Lambda and Amazon S3 to process telemetry data from KPN Things and manual CSV inputs every 10 minutes.
Step 03: Scalable Data Storage
Implemented Amazon Aurora as a high-performance, cloud-native database to store integrated telemetry and business operations data.
Step 04: Advanced Analytics Dashboards
Developed six prioritized Amazon QuickSight dashboards featuring custom timing rules and counters for real-time KPI monitoring.
Step 05: Automated Alerting System
Configured Amazon SNS and Amazon SES to trigger real-time email notifications for critical events, such as low CO2 levels or sustained machine downtime.
Step 06: User-Centric Design
Conducted iterative wireframing and UX/UI sessions to ensure dashboards were tailored to the specific needs of operations, sales, and executive stakeholders.
The Impact
The successful migration delivered immediate and long-term strategic benefits to FSN, establishing a foundation for digital growth:
Enhanced Operational Efficiency: Real-time monitoring of “Days Green” uptime and automated alerts reduced device downtime and allowed for proactive service interventions.
Optimized Supply Chain: Accurate inventory tracking for pods and CO2 cylinders enabled automated replenishment cycles, preventing stockouts and ensuring high customer satisfaction.
Data-Driven Commercial Growth: Clear visibility into the “Active Systems” and “Lease Conversion” funnels empowered Client to identify high-performing sites and optimize their commercial strategy.
Scalable Infrastructure: The cloud-native architecture is designed to support the Client as they scale from the 25-unit pilot to a full-scale national rollout.
Improved Stakeholder Alignment: Unified dashboards provided Client, Culligan Quench, and other partners with a shared view of performance metrics, streamlining cross-company collaboration.
Use Cases
Operational Health: Monitor machine connectivity to ensure 95%+ uptime during business hours.
Inventory Management: Predict refill needs using 7-day rolling consumption averages for pods and CO2.
Customer Adoption: Track new installations to verify they reach 100 servings within the first 30 days.
Commercial Strategy: Analyze pilot-to-contract conversion rates to optimize expansion efforts.
Service Quality: Aggregate NPS and CSAT data to identify and resolve product or service issues.
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