During the sales process, we educate the prospect on what is possible, show possible solutions to prospect needs during demonstrations of Alchemy’s platform and products, and provide an overview of the deployment process. 

These activities are undertaken before any commercial agreement is in place to 1) ensure both parties are on the same page about the client’s current and desired future state, and 2) so that Alchemy can accurately scope and project plan any subsequent deployment. 

The sales process includes the following steps:

• Tech Stack Review: maps current software landscape that is in place supporting broader company operations that may lead to lab work, result from lab work, or be in place in the lab today.
• Requirements Gathering: document business and operating goals, objectives and requirements for new software for lab and/or business-related operations including potential integration points with pre-existing software infrastructure. This document will be shared with the prospect and used as the basis for a detailed Statement of Work.
• Alchemy Education: provide a visual, verbal, and documented overview of the software and service capabilities of the Alchemy platform, customer success organization, and professional services provided.
• Alchemy Demo: provide a real-time session where an Alchemy Solution Engineer demonstrates general platform capabilities to the prospect in the context of the prospect’s tech stack, communicated needs, and lab-related business processes.
• Configured Demo: Alchemy will share a configuration checklist with the prospect which outlines the information Alchemy needs to configure a tailored product demonstration including multiple examples of the types of information required. Once received, the Solution Engineer will vet this information with the prospect and configure the process in Alchemy so the prospect can see how this process could be rendered in Alchemy from start to finish.
• Sandbox: Alchemy will stand up a prospect-specific tenant with project objectives, actual experiment data, test method(s), test data, and analyses, so that a prospect can assess the end to end experience of executing lab work in Alchemy.

The outputs of the sales process include:

• Proposal with Quote: that includes the business goals and objectives of the project as well as a summary of the projected scope of work for deployment and associated commercial terms. 
• Statement of Work (SOW): which provides detail behind the scope of work in the proposed quote. .

Importantly, all discovery and configuration work done in the sales process is fully leveraged in deployment.

This document details Alchemy’s Customer Success function over the arc of customer engagement, covering each program, process, team, resource requirements, and timelines.

• Project Management: Leveraging the discovery and associated configuration work from the sales process, our team of Customer Success professionals provide robust project management and solution roadmaps that instill confidence, clear project governance, and proactive communications from initial contact to happy customers.The Customer Success team member will also gather and document digitalization goals, objectives, against which we can all track our collective progress and impact.
• Configuration and Deployment: Alchemy’s deployment process is run by staff from our Customer Success team, all of whom are trained chemists, materials scientists, chemical engineers, and biochemists who work intimately with our clients. Alchemy leverages the discovery work done during the sales process and combines it with proven rapid-delivery capabilities, a detailed configuration process, integrated customer validation, development of customized training materials, rigorous quality control, and overall project management to facilitate successful deployment, training, and rollout of Alchemy’s software platform to each client.
• Training and Rollout: Alchemy’s training and rollout process ensures every administrator, subject matter expert, and user is trained on how to use Alchemy for each workflow configured on their behalf. We deliver customized training and manage the rollout of software to each user to ensure every user has what they need to start using Alchemy successfully from their first day. This is supported by a clearly documented process and the timelines at which each client stakeholder will be trained and deployed, as well as the key milestones to be achieved before the formal launch.
• Product and Technical Support: Alchemy customer support and customer success teams are available to address any technical support questions that users have. Technical support can be reached by phone or email Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. CET which is 2 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST. Alchemy also provides email support 24/7 with same-day response during working hours and one business day response, if outside working hours.
• Customer Success: Our dedicated team of Solution Consultants acts as Customer Success Managers throughout the implementation and maintenance phase of your deployment. Their services are provided as part of Technical Account Management (TAM) hours in your Alchemy subscription. The Solution Consultants understand client needs at a highly technical level and leverage this knowledge to help customers optimize their lab-related operations executed in the Alchemy platform.
• Configuration Changes: As workflows evolve over time, our Solution Consultants, as experts in both the platform capabilities and customers’ varied use cases, can make configuration changes, create new reports, and propose how to best utilize new platform capabilities. Configuration changes go through a rigorous testing and validation process before they are deployed to end-users.
• Product Upgrades: As a cloud software solution, our product and engineering teams are building a predefined product plan each year. This product vision and the corresponding execution plan are built into the cost of the service. The product plan is chemicals and materials science-specific and increases the value each customer gets from our software over time with every enhancement. Some product enhancements roll out automatically with electronic release notes. Others are rolled out as features that can be configured for each customer if desired by the customer. Our Solution Consultants will discuss these upcoming product enhancements, how they could be leveraged in customer workflows, to what benefit, and over what timeline, so customers can make informed decisions about what to include in their applications.

From initial contact to delighted long-term customers, Alchemy adheres to the highest standards and a documented methodology for project management, governance and communications. We follow a transparent process for project delivery, changes and communications to keep all stakeholders, subject matter experts and project resources in sync on shared responsibilities, timelines and overall expectations of what they will receive, from whom they will receive it and when it will be delivered.

Throughout all seven phases of work, Alchemy adheres to the highest standards and a documented methodology for project management, governance and communications. Alchemy follows a transparent process for project delivery, changes and communications to keep all stakeholders, subject matter experts and project resources in sync.

The following is an overview of the important roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders at Alchemy and at the Customer. These roles persist from initial deployment throughout a customer relationship as the Alchemy platform is constantly broadening and evolving.

Alchemy’s projects are led by a Solution Consultant in close collaboration with the customer’s BSOs and SMEs. Each project has clear objectives, milestones, resources, and work-back plans to ensure the Alchemy product is configured for the customer’s specific workflow(s) and rolled out to users after comprehensive product training. 

Alchemy’s deployments are completed using a best-practice project management program supported by standard tools, strong communications and change control processes.

Alchemy’s project managers will meet on a weekly basis to review the project schedule, status, progress, issues, risks, and risk mitigation plans. Additional meetings would also happen among the various members and levels of project delivery resources, SMEs, BSOs and other stakeholders to assist with the resolution of escalated project issues and reporting of project status. Ad hoc meetings may be held where there is a need to review project items or issues prior to the next scheduled project status meeting. 

For large deployments, Alchemy also recommends a Project Steering Committee be formed that includes the project business sponsor(s), BSOs and key Alchemy representatives. The Project Steering Committee would meet on a monthly or bi-monthly basis to review project status, progress, issues and risks.

Alchemy’s project management, governance, communications and meetings include:

• A documented project management program.
• Regular communication including:

• ~Weekly project status reports.
• ~Weekly working calls with SMEs.
• ~Bi-Weekly more strategic calls with BSOs and potentially SMEs at the BSOs’ discretion.
• ~Monthly or bi-montly calls with the Steering Committee, if one is in place and it wants to be kept abreast of project progress at that frequency.

• Project management and communications tools and templates used to provide the project team a real-time status of the project and steps in progress include:

• ~Mutual work plan and gantt chart. If the customer requires it, the plan can include a standard RACI matrix specifying who is responsible, who is accountable, who is consulted and who is informed. 
• ~A high-level work plan may look something like this:

• ~A detailed work plan may look something like this:

The typical Alchemy software configuration and deployment project takes from 2 to 6 months. Project length varies based on the number of products purchased and workflows that need to be configured and validated, the number of users to be trained, and the customer’s availability.

The high-level project phases are:

Per the project management section above, at the kick-off meeting for initial software configuration and deployment, a first draft project plan will be created that will plan out the work that needs to be done for a deployment. The project plan will be adjusted as the project progresses. If any work is to be performed that is not explicitly listed in the Statement of Work, the Solution Consultant will first initiate a Change Order. The Change Order must be signed by the customer and additional budget must be approved to cover the work.

During configuration, Alchemy Solution Consultants use our no-code platform to configure a library of lab-related applications for each of our customers. We have developed a systematic process and set of supporting tools and templates that enable us to do this work to specifications, on time and on budget. Our Solution Consultants work collaboratively and transparently with SMEs and BSOs at each of our customers to ensure the twin goals of digitalization and optimization.

Alchemy’s software configuration and deployment process includes the following phases:

• Verification of scope and technical solution developed during the sales process
• Configuration of the scope of work
• Quality assurance to ensure configuration is complete and working properly
• User validation testing by customer
• User training
• Deployment to production
  

The Solution Consultant will verify four categories of information: 

• Products purchased (Products)
• User access rights & permissions (Users & Tags)
• The portfolio of workflows (Process Templates)
• The data collected during the workflow (Record Templates)
• Reporting requirements (Views)

Note that products or process templates that are required, but not included in the Statement of Work require a project Change Order, and an increase in project budget.

Each category of information is described in more detail below.

Products Purchased

Solution Consultants will confirm the products purchased and key capabilities that each provide. Products include:

• ELN
• LIMS
• AI
• DOE
• Chemical Drawing

User Access Rights & Permissions (Users & Tags)

Solution Consultants will work with the SMEs and BSOs to document who, at the customer, is responsible for completing each component (i.e., stage) of work across all the various types of user actions as well as who can see what in the system:

• Assigning a resource
• Prioritizing a project
• Approving a project
• Voiding a project
• Putting a project on hold
• Working on a step of a project
• Working on a task
• Accessing projects or specific records
• Reviewing someone else’s work
• Being informed or notified about something that occurred
• Etc.

The Portfolio of Workflows (Process Templates)

Solution Consultants will identify and document what workflows (i.e., process templates) the customer wants to capture in Alchemy. These could include workflows like:

• Research
• New product development
• Product enhancement
• Application testing and/or development
• Alternative raw materials assessment
• Test request
• Scale-up
• Quality assurance
• Customer complaint
• Etc.

Process templates are very important because they should be a digital representation of a customer’s best practices for all employees to follow while also accounting for the variability inherent in the scientific, hypothesis-driven nature of lab work. This may seem counterintuitive, but it means that for each workflow there can be many paths through it. 

Specifically, project variability is addressed directly in the workflow with the appropriate: 

• Contingencies
• Decision trees
• Feedback loops
• Gates
• Iterations
• Logic
• Parallel steps
• Required & optional steps
• Reviews
• Etc.

The Data Collected at Each Stage of Each Workflow (Record Templates)

Solution Consultants will identify and document what data (i.e., record templates) the customer wants to capture in Alchemy as work is being done in the system. These could include:

• Data entered by people
• Data from other software or from networked, software-driven lab equipment

When configuring process and record templates, the logic, relationships and dependencies between workflows and records must be accounted for to ensure optimal flow, maximal automation and the maximal value of the resulting data as well as account for the variation in the pathway through the workflow as described above. 

Record templates are very important because they set standards for the type of data, level of detail and relationships between datasets being collected. The ultimate goals of Alchemy are to:

• Digitize, relate and consolidate data that has previously been siloed to enable people to work more efficiently and more effectively today
• Create a single repository of AI-ready data for use now or in the future

When set up properly, Alchemy is a scalable platform to digitize your lab-related operations and an engine for generating AI-ready data for predictive chemistry.

Reporting Requirements (Views)

Reporting requirements document what users of the system would like to learn from the system. We call these analytics or insights “views” in Alchemy. We expect that each customer has current reports that they use to do their job that can be shared in spreadsheets, PDF or screenshots. We will also work with each customer to create views based on the datasets that will be newly available in Alchemy. 

Keep in mind that as information is generated in Alchemy, each user can have “ever-green” reports set up to see up-to-date versions of the datasets that are most valuable to executing their job.

Phased Approach

Ultimately, Alchemy will need to operate within the context of the customer’s larger tech stack and digital strategy. Once the customer’s library of applications in Alchemy are deployed, then integrations with other software can be initiated in a phase 2 project.

Project Cadence

• Projects generally start with an Initial meeting with the Business Owner(s) to:

• ~Provide an overview of the deployment process overall Confirm roles and responsibilities at both parties
• ~Identify all SMEs by group or team
  

• Kick-off meeting with all SMEs to: 

• ~Provide an overview of the deployment process overall
• ~Confirm roles and responsibilities at both parties
• ~Present the initial project plan

• Weekly status update via email from Alchemy to all BSOs and SMEs
• Weekly working sessions with SMEs (as planned in the project plan) to vet materials, discuss options and tradeoffs, collect feedback, make decisions

The detailed scope of work will be memorialized in documents which capture user permissions, process templates, record templates and reporting requirements, examples of which are displayed below.

This is an example of how we manage user permissions:

This is an example of how we manage process templates:

This is an example of how we manage record templates:

This is an example of how we manage reporting requirements:

In the configuration phase, Alchemy Solution Consultants configure Alchemy and meet weekly with SMEs and BSOs to show progress. Because Alchemy is leveraging its no-code platform, we can execute elements of the customer design and show live results as we configure to get customer feedback. Typically, this is done toward the end of big development projects. By contrast, Alchemy gives customers hands-on visibility to the application build-out process instead of only status reports in its weekly working sessions with BSOs and SMEs.

Configuration is an iterative process. Solution Consultants may iterate through cycles of configure, demo, and collect feedback. 

The process is iterative, collaborative, and as transparent as possible by design. All feedback is welcome. If there are multiple options for execution, the Solution Consultant will discuss the pros and cons of each option with SMEs and BSOs. If the feedback is material and impacts the overall project scope, then the project timeline could be extended which will also be discussed. 

Alchemy’s configuration platform coupled with chemical industry domain knowledge and experience allow Solution Consultants to make meaningful progress in each cycle. Customer SMEs and BSOs benefit from being able to see how the applications are evolving and can validate that they meet their requirements in a compressed time frame. 

The end result is a set of core lab software products integrated into a tailor-made library of workflow-driven applications that optimize each customer’s daily operations and provide them with the ability to leverage captured data in real-time.

Configuration Process & Outputs

The configuration process includes weekly working sessions to discuss status, show live application progress, and collect feedback.

The output of the configuration process is a library of working applications that are ready for user validation testing (UVT).

To ensure configuration is complete and working properly, the Solution Consultant along with Configuration Developers and Data Migration and Systems Integration staff who contributed to the deployment will execute a rigorous testing and validation process on the superset of workflows and integrations contained in the scope of work before they are deployed to end-users.

• Verify configuration after it has been implemented on beta-testing environment.
• Verify configuration after it has been implemented on production environment.
• User validation of configuration to confirm configuration has been done as agreed upon.

User Validation Testing (UVT) is an important phase in an Alchemy deployment because it gives users an opportunity to test out the library of applications by inputting realistic test projects as a small team or cross-functionally as the workflows dictate. UVT is a final opportunity to make configuration changes before broad-based training starts.

User Validation Testing Process & Outputs

The UVT process includes:

• Provision of IDs and passwords to all UVT testers
• A plan of action for user testing, including documentation of any requested changes
• A meeting to discuss requested changes with SMEs and/or BSOs reconciling any potentially conflicting feedback
• Individual re-testing based on changes made
• Writing confirmation of validation after which we start broad-based training
  
  

The output of the UVT process is:

• Customer validation and sign off on the overall configuration
• A custom set of workflow-driven applications that are ready for training and deployment

Alchemy delivers to each of its customers a library of custom workflow-driven applications. Training is an essential part of customer enablement and success. As a result, all training is tailored to the applications delivered. For every workflow, the Solution Consultant will prepare a training video that guides each group of users through each stage of each workflow. There will also be training on the reporting capability and the configuration portal for those customers who purchase admin subscriptions.

The outputs of the training step of the process include:

• Solution Consultants script training videos based on the library of applications that were delivered.
• Each video guides its users on how to use the application (e.g., execute a process or project, manage tasks, log effort, create and manage records, complete a stage, etc.), provides an overview of the specific process (workflow) and records that can be filled in to capture the data associated with the work.
• Relevant training material is distributed to each application user.

Workflow Training includes:

• An email to each user group with 5-7 minute training videos specific to the group.

• The email will suggest practice exercises for the group. 
• For instance, an R&D team may have 4 workflows and so Alchemy will provide 4 videos and suggest each person put through 2 test projects for each workflow type as “homework”.

• 60-90 minute training feedback sessions are organized by SME to gather feedback on the training exercises and the Solution Consultant(s) answer open questions.
• Questions that surface during these feedback sessions are documented and provided as a part of the knowledge base available to all users of the system.
• There will be a training follow up session two weeks after the training feedback session to answer any new questions and/or provide further training for those required.

Training is delivered to all customer user groups by department and by geography to accommodate teams working in non-overlapping time zones. For example:

• R&D team training
• Technical service team training
• Analytical lab team training
• Reporting training
• System Administrator training

Our expectation is that each user of the system is able to complete their work in Alchemy at the completion of training.

Report Training includes:

• An email to each user group with a set of 2-3 minute training videos specific to the group.

• The email will suggest practice exercises for the group.
• For instance, an R&D team may have 12 Reports and so Alchemy will provide 12 videos and suggest each person set up their Reports as “homework.” 

• 10-15 minute reporting feedback sessions are organized by SME to gather feedback on the training exercises and the Solution Consultants answer open questions.
• Questions that surface during these feedback sessions are documented and released as a part of the knowledge base available to all users of the system.
• There will be training follow up session two weeks after the training feedback session to answer any new questions and/or provide further training for those required.
  

Admin Training includes:

• The Solution Consultant will share the configuration portal manual with the admin users which provides detailed descriptions and examples of how to use the configuration portal.
• Alchemy will lead a 2-day in-person workshop with the administrator(s).
• The customer’s system administrators will execute the homework assignments over the next week. 
• Alchemy Solution Consultants will evaluate the work and provide feedback the following week.
• Alchemy Solution Consultants will also review all work system administrators execute for the first month to ensure they have sufficient proficiency in the configuration portal. 

Our expectation is that at the end of the first month, the customer admin is able to:

• Set up user tags, process and record templates.
• Once created, these provide the “directions” for the Alchemy platform to generate workflow-driven applications. 
• Release applications configured for their user groups.

Alchemy’s technical support and customer success teams are available to address any technical support questions that users have. 

Technical support can be reached by phone or email Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. CET which is 2 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST. 

Alchemy also provides email support 24/7 with same day response in working hours and within one business day response, if outside working hours.

In-bound user inquiries fall in four broad categories as outlined in the table below:

When an inbound inquiry is received, there will be a confirmation of receipt by Alchemy tech support. Tech support will then assess and categorize the inquiry in one of these four categories. 

Please note that all configuration requests that are submitted by non-SMEs/BSOs will be vetted with the appropriate SME(s) before any changes will be made. If approved by the SME, the Solution Consultant/CSM will provide a timeline for execution and will execute accordingly.

Navigation questions will be answered directly. Additionally, if the Solution Consultant/CSM believes that the answer may be broadly helpful, this person will add the response, screenshots or video to the library of training material.

For all technical issues will be: 

• Logged in our system, investigated, categorized, and prioritized
• Updated status will be provided to the customer until the issue is resolved
• When the appropriate action is taken to resolve or address the issue, the Solution Consultant/CSM will close the loop with the customer

Overall, our tech support operations goals are to do quick assessment and categorization of the inbound inquiry and then address with the appropriate type and urgency of response as well as turnaround on the resolution.

Customer success is critically important to Alchemy success. 

Once deployed, our CSMs hold meetings once or twice a month with SMEs and BSOs for collecting feedback from SMEs and BSOs to use as input to optimization. At the same time, they follow a systematic process to analyze the usage of customer-specific data monthly and quarterly as the basis for their own concepts for optimization. Alchemy CSMs follow this structured and cadenced process to: 

• Listen to the customer and document customer concepts
• Analyze customer usage data and make CSM suggestions   
• Discuss and vet all concepts that are surfaced as each has pros, cons and potential deployment options
• Jointly prioritize the superset of potential improvements
• Execute the improvements
• Measure results
• Double down, retreat or move on the next highest priority

In this way, labs - whether ISO-compliant or not - can be both compliant and continuously improve processes.

Alchemy’s ultimate objective is to optimize lab-related operations on as many dimensions as possible. To this end, there are several levels of optimization that can be made over time informed by usage data and customer feedback. These optimizations could result from:

• Changes to workflows
• Increased automation within a workflow
• Changes to organizational structure
• Analytics or insights for data-driven decision making
• Integration with incremental software or systems

All improvements that involve configuration changes will follow the process outlined in the configuration and change control process section outlined below.

On an annual basis there will be a more strategic meeting. Attendees will include the customer’s steering committee members, BSO and SMEs as well as Alchemy’s VP of Customer Success, Sales Director who owns the business relationship, and VP Product where the customer and Alchemy will review:

• Lab-related operations for the preceding 12-month period
• The performance of the CSM(s), BSO(s) and SME(s)
• Alchemy’s upcoming product plan
• Customer goals and objectives for the next 12 months

This meeting will kick-start the customer's annual Alchemy plan for optimizing lab operations. We believe each customer should have a plan in mind for what and how to improve for the upcoming year that we execute and measure against collaboratively.

The primary benefit of Alchemy’s no-code configuration platform is that it makes it easy for your library of applications to keep up with the pace of your business. Configuration changes, therefore, are to be expected and are usually a result of insights. 

There are numerous catalysts for a configuration change. They include new:

• Group or organizational structure change
• Acquisition
• Geographic expansion
• Insight about how to optimize your operations based on newly available data

It is important that you plan and make changes to how the applications work because users are smart. As soon as there is a gap between the work that needs to get done and the software, there will be user frustration and compliance risk. That is why we like to have an annual plan and that you also have an ad hoc way to make changes in accordance with management mandates.    

However, because all users have access to Alchemy CSMs, we tend to receive a lot of feedback and suggestions. Not all incoming input is in the best interest of your company, consistent with your annual plan or priorities. Therefore, all feedback that is received will be vetted with the SMEs and BSOs and will require BSO sign off before any execution occurs. Additionally, when there are initiatives that have implications across groups, we will facilitate a multi-group meeting to ensure that all group needs are met.  

Configuration changes go through a rigorous testing and validation process before they are deployed to end-users. 

• Review design document related to configuration change to surface potential issues before configuration change implementation starts
• Verify configuration change after it has been implemented on beta-testing environment
• Verify configuration change after it has been implemented on production environment
• User validation of configuration change to confirm change has been done as agreed upon

Finally, for any configuration changes that require incremental training, the Solution Consultant/CSM will script and add a training video to their training library per the training section above.

As a cloud software solution, our product and engineering teams are building to a predefined product plan each year. This product vision and the corresponding execution plan is built into the cost of our service. The product plan is specialty chemicals specific and increases the value each customer gets from our software over time with every enhancement. 

As per our customer success program, we will share our annual plan with all customers so we can use that as context or input for the collaborative creation of your annual plan. 

There are many kinds of enhancements:

• Back-end that are unseen
• Front-end that are seen i.e., UI-impacting
• Features that apply to all customers
• Features that can be selectively configured in at the customer’s discretion
  

CSMs will discuss the upcoming product enhancements that will roll out automatically to all users (e.g., a new report type or performance improvement). These enhancements will be accompanied by electronic release notes describing the feature, screenshots and/or videos on how to use it and its primary benefits.

Other product enhancements are rolled out as features that can be added to the existing customer configuration if desired by the customer. Our CSMs will discuss these upcoming product enhancements with BSOs and SMEs, how they could be leveraged in customer workflows, to what benefit and over what timeline, so customers can make informed decisions about what to include in their applications or not. Any enhancements that require configuration work will follow the process outlined in our configuration and change control section and training sections, accordingly.

We hope this documentation answers your key questions about our customer success program. We are certainly happy to speak directly on any of these or other topics that relate to a successful Alchemy experience.