How QuantAQ streamlines their workflows and ensures traceability
QuantAQ specializes in the production of IoT air quality sensors. Their innovative solutions enable individuals, communities, and organizations to gain insights into air quality and thus make informed decisions for better health and environmental outcomes.
I think the easiest way to sum it up would be that we’ve been shipping stuff since 2019, and were already using Katana before Covid started. We got through all of Covid and all the supply chain disturbances without any supply chain issues — with just a small team we had in the beginning. We managed everything and were able to keep everything in stock, building, operating, shipping, and getting stuff out the door, on top of everything else. I would not have been able to do that without Katana.
About QuantAQ
QuantAQ, co-founded by David Hagan, is a manufacturing company that specializes in the production of IoT air quality sensors. They develop advanced sensor technology and data analytics tools to accurately measure and analyze air pollutants in real-time. Their innovative solutions enable individuals, communities, and organizations to gain insights into air quality and thus make informed decisions for better health and environmental outcomes.
A spin-off of Hagan’s Ph.D. at MIT in 2019, the company rapidly grew to provide its services to governmental institutions and large businesses, including Fortune 500 companies. With a single physical location and a remote workforce, QuantAQ relies on a variety of contract manufacturers for sub-assemblies and then final assembly, calibration, and shipping take place directly in-house.
We spoke with David Hagan, Co-founder and CEO of QuantAQ.
Outgrowing spreadsheets
Before Katana, QuantAQ relied on Excel spreadsheets since the operation was relatively simple at the beginning. They ordered exactly as many components as needed, with a preset batch size, so tracking inventory, production, and costs was fairly straightforward.
However, as the company grew and began encountering challenges (accounting, forecasting, and planning), it became clear that a more robust solution was needed.
Ensuring we had enough stock, and then tracking the cost over time for accountants became very cumbersome in Excel. Since we are dealing with lots of parts, around 50 or something per product, that was especially challenging to track in a spreadsheet.
Finding the right fit
Hagan explored several different options, including Oracle and OpenBOM, but ultimately chose Katana as he appreciated its free trial and ability to subscribe monthly to avoid being locked into a yearly contract without flexibility.
We have a few people with Katana access, but I’m the only one with more direct access. Our accountants have access to Katana just to pull info at the month’s end, and there are currently two of us that use the Shop Floor App — those assembling and putting in time that needs to be tracked.
Streamlining sales, purchasing, and production
As both a B2B and B2G organization, QuantAQ orders are finalized via email. Once an order comes in, it’s manually entered as a sales order in Katana.
We don’t have a physical or virtual store – our deals are way too big for people to buy them online. Orders are primarily from governments and other businesses, customers who will issue a purchase order from us.
Once an order is entered in Katana, it triggers a manufacturing or sales workflow (based on the sales order). Once an order is ready, it’s assigned product serial numbers and shipped to the end user.
QuantAQ also uses Katana’s purchasing workflows — once a purchase is confirmed, a purchase order is issued in Katana and then synced to QuickBooks Online for accounting purposes.
Complete product traceability via serial numbers
QuantAQ was quick to adopt Katana’s newly developed serial number tracking functionality into their process. For electronics manufacturers, it’s essential to tie product serial numbers to customers and keep track of warranties, repairs, and support issues.
We assign serial numbers to sales orders in Katana once they’re completed. We want to see when it was built and to who and when it was shipped since that ties into our support workflow to keep track of warranties.
As serial numbers are a relatively new feature in Katana, QuantAQ maintains a record of serial numbers in Airtable alongside Katana as the warranties go back a year. However, the company aims to eventually migrate all data to Katana to streamline operations.
Tying it all together with other business apps
While Katana provides a comprehensive solution for inventory and manufacturing management, QuantAQ still relies on some external tools and processes. For instance, the company uses QuickBooks Online for accounting and Stripe for invoicing.
To improve team collaboration, QuantAQ uses Katana’s API to connect their Slack workspace.
As soon as an order is ready to pack, we add the packing list PDF into a Slack channel so that whoever is there can pack it up, list the serial numbers, and mark this pack so we can invoice it. Same with deliveries – everything is in Slack, so as soon as we get a delivery, whoever is downstairs posts a picture of it in Slack with the packing slip, which then gets marked as received.
Besides internal communication, QuantAQ has integrated Katana with QuickBooks Online to make their costing and communication with accountants seamless.
The pieces of information that they get from Katana are revenue and COGS. And then, of course, they do lots of checking on the purchase order side, matching up invoices and making sure that transactions are categorized correctly between inventory and transit.
Successfully handling a pandemic and supply chain issues
When asked about the biggest impact Katana has brought to the company, David highlighted the ability to get on top of all the supply chain disturbances that emerged during and after the pandemic.
I think the easiest way to sum it up would be that we’ve been shipping stuff since 2019, and were already using Katana before Covid started. We got through all of Covid and all the supply chain disturbances without any supply chain issues — with just a small team we had in the beginning. We managed everything and were able to keep everything in stock, building, operating, shipping, and getting stuff out the door, on top of everything else. I would not have been able to do that without Katana.
QuantAQ operates from a hardware co-working space with 120 other companies, and David has been an advocate for Katana there too.
I’ve pushed several people toward it. We work out of a hardware kind of co-working space, so there are 120 companies here, and several are now using Katana because of our recommendation.
Scaling electronics manufacturing needs a platform like Katana
When it comes to electronics, it’s paramount that strict attention is applied to how products are assembled as well as the quality of items purchased as it’s exactly these key components that determine the perception of a manufacturer.
Katana’s ability to give QuantAQ a better view into forecasting and planning means that they can better structure the exact type of impact they will make on their market.
