# From inbox chaos to a routed pipeline in one system

URL: https://mechaneforge.tech/case-studies/lead-intake-automation/
Sector: B2B services firm (representative example engagement, anonymised)

> Enquiries arrived by web form, email and chat, and were copied by hand into a spreadsheet and CRM. We designed an intake workflow that classifies, enriches and routes every lead within minutes.

## Challenge
- New enquiries landed in three places and were entered manually, so response times depended on who was in the office.
- There was no consistent way to judge which leads were worth a fast reply.
- Sales leaders could not see where leads were stuck.

## Approach
- **Map the real flow**: A working session with sales and operations to document how an enquiry actually moves today, including the unofficial steps.
- **Classify and enrich**: An LLM reads each enquiry, extracts intent and urgency, and attaches company details from approved sources.
- **Route with a human checkpoint**: High-value leads go to a named owner with a drafted reply for one-click approval. Low-confidence cases land in a review queue.
- **Report**: A live dashboard shows volume, response time and conversion by source.

## What we measure
- Median first-response time: From hours to under 15 minutes
- Manual data entry per lead: Eliminated for standard enquiries
- Leads with no owner after 1 hour: Zero

Built with: Webhooks, LLM classification, CRM API, PostgreSQL, Slack alerts