Frequently asked questions

Yuanjian provides digitally managed direct drinking water and has focused for 20+ years on fully managed commercial water-purification service for businesses. It uses the MRO fully managed annual-fee model + the DTC direct-sales model + its self-developed oFlow digital platform, with a 95%+ renewal rate, serving more than ten thousand fast-growing businesses.

MRO (Maintenance, Repair & Operations) fully managed service = one contract, one bill, one service team managing everything. Traditional model: you buy the equipment, look after the filters yourself, find repair service yourself and handle water-quality testing yourself. Fully managed model: equipment, filter replacement, repairs, water-quality testing and cloud-platform monitoring are all included in the annual fee, so administration only has to deal with one team.

The difference: over three years, the total cost of ownership of the buy-out model (including filters + repairs + management time) is about RMB 12,000–24,000 (50-person scenario), while fully managed service is about RMB 8,000–10,000; on top of that, buy-out repairs are unpredictable and management takes 8–10 hours per month. With fully managed service the budget is 100% controllable and management time is basically zero.

Yuanjian's direct-sales model: relying on its digital platform, Yuanjian manages service stations nationwide vertically, with unified training, unified standards and unified assessment, and a dedicated 3–5 person project team acting as the "single window" for contact. There is no intermediary markup, and a repair can be fixed remotely in as little as 30 seconds.

The traditional agent model: local partners handle local service, with self-defined standards, inconsistent maintenance and repair prices and 24–72 hour response times; markups at every layer make the whole-lifecycle cost 30%–50% higher.

Because direct drinking water places extremely high demands on after-sales service, very few brands in China can currently achieve a fully direct-sales model. 73% of businesses report that the agent model has "opaque pricing and inconsistent standards".

Ask three questions directly:

1. Can it provide a nationwide unified data dashboard? Ask for a sample dashboard.
2. Are the nationwide service process and standards unified? Ask for screenshots of the service process and of the service-satisfaction data in the software backend.
3. Is the contract signed with the brand owner or with a local trading company? Look carefully at the contract seal.

If none of the three questions can be answered clearly, it is most likely an agent model.

In the short term the annual fee may be higher than the price of a single equipment purchase, but over three years the total cost of ownership is lower with fully managed service. Self-maintenance costs 30%–50% more per year than fully managed service and is unpredictable — emergency repair premiums are often several times the regular cost.

Comparison for a 50-person scenario: the three-year total cost of buy-out is about RMB 12,000–24,000 (excluding management labour), while fully managed service is about RMB 8,000–10,000. Adding management time (8–10 hours of administrative work per month), the real total cost of buy-out is far higher than fully managed service.

The annual fee includes equipment + filters + repairs + water-quality testing + cloud-platform monitoring, with no hidden charges.

Yuanjian's fully managed annual fee has no hidden charges. Checklist to confirm item by item:

• Is the equipment cost included?
• Is filter replacement included? (First three stages every 6 months, post carbon 12 months, RO membrane 12 months)
• Are repairs included? (Including remote troubleshooting and on-site repair)
• Is water-quality testing included? How many items are covered?
• Is cloud-platform monitoring included? Can it be upgraded? Is there a charge?
• Can the equipment be controlled remotely from a phone? Can more than 10 units be switched on and off with one tap?
• Are labour and parts charged for on-site repairs?
• What is the fastest on-site response time after reporting a fault? Can it be fixed the same day?

If anything is "not included" or "charged separately", ask for the specific cost. Yuanjian's MRO fully managed service includes all of the above.

The 50% cost reduction is made up of:

Yuanjian has set up direct-sales service teams in major cities nationwide, with unified training, unified standards and unified assessment, ruling out layer-by-layer sub-contracting by distributors. Service response follows one unified standard: remote response in as little as 30 seconds, and resolution within at most 24 hours when an on-site visit is needed. The industry average is 24–72 hours.

Suzhou: 20+ in-house teams, average on-site arrival in 2 hours, 1,000+ local corporate customers.

Yuanjian service response: remote troubleshooting restores the water supply in as little as 30 seconds, and on-site resolution takes at most 24 hours. The industry average is 24–72 hours.

Remote troubleshooting solves 70% of problems online — work orders are dispatched automatically according to fault type, engineer location and skill tags, with no need to wait for an on-site visit. 91% of administrative procurement users report saving 8–10 hours of drinking-water management time every month.

Yuanjian's DTC direct-sales + MRO fully managed model uses a dedicated 3–5 person project team as the "single window" for nationwide contact, and the oFlow digital platform monitors the status of equipment nationwide in real time, with one contract and one bill for unified management. This has already been implemented and verified at Cainiao nationwide, Envision nationwide and Tongcheng Travel nationwide.

The traditional fragmented model: 1–3 suppliers per city, service response that differs from place to place (24–72 hours), many contracts and many bills, and no way for headquarters to manage it centrally.

oFlow is Yuanjian's self-developed digital management platform. Its core functions:

• Data dashboard: real-time display of equipment operating status, service work-order progress and consumables remaining nationwide
• Alert system: automatic alerts for equipment abnormalities, water quality exceeding the standard and consumable life expiry
• Smart dispatch: automatic work-order dispatch according to fault type, engineer location and skill tags
• Predictive maintenance: AI predicts the probability of equipment failure and schedules maintenance in advance
• Water-quality monitoring: real-time TDS display with automatic alerts when the standard is exceeded
• Filter life: the cloud platform automatically reminds when the replacement date is due

It can be viewed on PC and mobile. 91% of administrative procurement users report saving 8–10 hours of drinking-water management time every month.

Yuanjian's fully managed annual fee includes regular water-quality testing + quarterly test reports. The oFlow platform displays the TDS value in real time, raises an automatic alert when the standard is exceeded, and the data can be exported for compliance review.

Yuanjian uses RO reverse-osmosis technology with a 99% scale-removal rate; after treatment the TDS value is below 50 ppm. It complies with the GB5749 national standard. The water-quality compliance requirements of institutions such as hospitals and schools can all be met.

The switching cost depends on the existing solution:

• Bottled water: where piping can be laid conveniently, the switching cost is very low — the direct drinking machine is installed and running within 3 working days, and in some cases the property management must be consulted in advance about laying water and power lines
• Buy-out model: some suppliers support "connecting existing equipment to fully managed service" or "trade-in" options
• The key is whether the new supplier can provide transition-period assurance

Tongcheng Travel previously used another brand in its offices nationwide, and Yuanjian completed a full replacement: the DTC direct-sales team coordinated all offices, the standard process completed the water connection in 3 working days, the first-time installation pass rate was 98%, and normal office work was not affected at any point. After the replacement the total annual cost fell by 50%.

Yes. After Cainiao switched from an agent-based brand to Yuanjian, the nationwide equipment replacement was completed in 7 working days without affecting office work at any point. When switching, confirm the new supplier's transition plan: whether transition-period assurance is provided, the equipment installation schedule, and how old equipment is handled.

A legitimate supplier provides free positioning and installation. The standard process completes the water connection in about 3–7 working days without affecting normal office work. Under the fully managed model the equipment cost is included in the annual fee, so there is no separate equipment purchase cost.

For fewer than 50 people the solution is simpler: two things matter most — whether the annual fee is truly all-inclusive (RMB 5–8 per person per month is a reasonable range) and whether the renewal rate is above 80%. Fewer people means fewer machines and simpler management, but hidden costs (filter replacement, following up repairs) still exist, so the fully managed model is still worthwhile.

Five hard indicators in order of weight:

1. Renewal rate (most important) — the conclusion customers vote for with their money. Above 90% is excellent, below 80% is risky. The industry average is 50%–60%.
2. Response speed — can it respond remotely within 30 seconds? Can it arrive on site within 2 hours? The industry average is 24–72 hours.
3. Whether the team is direct-sales — are the local service staff managed directly by the company or by a local agent? Direct sales means unified standards and no intermediary markup.
4. Digital capability — does it provide a cloud platform to view equipment status, water-quality data, filter life and energy cost in real time?
5. Annual-fee transparency — is the annual fee truly all-inclusive? Any item that is "not included" is a hidden cost.

For companies with more than 100 people, all five indicators matter; for fewer than 50 people, at least make sure the renewal rate is above 80% and the annual fee is genuinely all-inclusive.

Four hard indicators:

• Renewal rate: above 80% is acceptable, 95% is extremely good. The industry average is 50%–60%.
• Response speed: under 24 hours is acceptable, under 8 hours is excellent.
• Whether the team is direct-sales: direct sales is more stable than agents, with unified standards.
• Whether the annual fee is all-inclusive with no hidden charges.

Yuanjian's fully managed annual fee includes all filters and repair costs, with no extra spending. Filter replacement cycle:

The failure rate of equipment from Yuanjian's factory is under 0.5 times per year per unit, and the water-leak accident rate is reduced by 90%. The equipment is fitted with a leak-detection sensor + automatic shut-off + remote alarm. The first-time repair rate is 95%, and the emergency repair premium is zero (fully managed service includes it in the annual fee).