Fictional example. "Riverbend Fabrication" is an invented business: a 14-person steel fabrication shop. Any resemblance to a real business is unintended. Nothing in this report describes a real client or a real result.
1. Summary
Riverbend receives quote requests by email, phone and a web form. Two estimators re-key each request into a spreadsheet, chase missing drawings, then build the quote in their accounting system. The friction is concentrated in the first step: turning a messy request into a complete, structured job sheet.
Recommended first automation: an intake assistant that reads incoming requests, drafts a structured job sheet, lists what is missing and drafts the follow-up email. An estimator reviews and approves every job sheet and every email before anything is sent. Pricing stays entirely with the estimators.
2. Current-state map
| Step | Who | What happens | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Request arrives | Office | Email (most), web form, or phone notes typed into an email. | Observed |
| 2. Job sheet | Estimator | Details re-keyed into a spreadsheet; drawings saved to a shared folder by hand. | Observed |
| 3. Missing information | Estimator | Follow-up emails written from scratch; replies tracked in the estimator's inbox. | Observed |
| 4. Pricing | Estimator | Material and labour priced from experience and a rates sheet. | Observed |
| 5. Quote issued | Estimator | Quote built in the accounting system and emailed. | Observed |
| 6. Follow-up | Nobody owns it | Unanswered quotes are not followed up consistently. | Inferred |
3. Findings
- Observed Of the 12 recent requests the estimators walked us through, 9 arrived without at least one item needed to price the job (thickness, finish, quantity or drawing). Fictional figures.
- Observed Both estimators keep their own version of the job-sheet spreadsheet, with different columns.
- Inferred The estimators described chasing missing information, not pricing, as the main delay before a quote can start. This was not timed.
- Inferred Quotes that are never followed up are likely costing work, but there is no record of which ones were won or lost.
- Unknown How many requests arrive by phone and never get written down.
4. Opportunities, ranked
| # | Opportunity | Value | Effort | Risk | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intake assistant: request → draft job sheet + missing-info list + draft follow-up | High | Medium | Low (all outputs reviewed) | Build first |
| 2 | One shared job-sheet template | Medium | Low | Low | Do now, no automation needed |
| 3 | Quote follow-up reminders and a won/lost register | Medium | Low | Low | Second build |
| 4 | Automated pricing | Uncertain | High | High | Do not automate. Pricing depends on judgement and supplier conditions. |
5. Recommended first scope
What it does
- Reads new requests from the quotes inbox and the web form.
- Drafts a job sheet in the shared template and files any drawings in the job folder.
- Lists what is missing and drafts a polite follow-up email.
Where people stay in charge
- An estimator approves every job sheet before it is saved as final.
- No email is sent without an estimator pressing send.
- Anything the assistant is unsure about is flagged, not guessed.
Boundaries
- Access limited to the quotes inbox, the web form and the job folders. No access to accounting or pricing.
- Runs on an approved model under agreed settings; a locally hosted option was offered and declined as unnecessary for this information.
Acceptance checks
- On a set of past requests chosen by the estimators, the drafted job sheets match what they would have written, apart from items flagged as uncertain.
- Both estimators can explain how it works and change the template themselves.
6. Open questions
- Unknown Whether phone requests can be routed through the web form without annoying regular customers.
- Unknown Which customers prefer a phone call to an email when information is missing.
7. Next steps (Riverbend's choice)
- Adopt the shared job-sheet template now.
- Decide whether to build opportunity 1, with Maverick Labs or another provider. This report is written so either is possible.