Step 4 of 7
Who you deal with, what repeats, how you write, and the jobs an agent could take.
Sample data Sample company. Meridian Freight is made up, and so is every figure on this page. Nothing here came from a real mailbox.
- Who they are
- Meridian Freight, 11 people, 3 of them on the operations desk, doing freight forwarding and customs clearance in Mumbai. Made up, from the name to the last number.
- The mailbox
- ops@meridianfreight.example — a practice mailbox, read over the last 90 days. No real person has ever written to it.
- Why it is this one
- Freight forwarding is the clearest case there is: the work lives in web portals with no API, the same questions arrive all week, and the jobs that cost money are the ones nobody is asked to do.
- priya.nair@kanchanexports.exampleWrites to you and you write back34 in · 17 back
- r.subramanian@deccantextiles.exampleWrites to you and you write back34 in · 18 back
- imran@gulfpharma.exampleWrites to you and you write back32 in · 16 back
- sales@vedikaagro.exampleWrites to you and you write back32 in · 16 back
- bookings@konkanroadways.exampleWrites to you and you write back30 in · 15 back
- ops@sagarlogistics.exampleWrites to you and you write back30 in · 15 back
- rates@bluehorizonship.exampleWrites to you and you write back30 in · 15 back
- exports@shaktimotors.exampleWrites to you and you write back30 in · 16 back
- alerts@cargotrack.exampleWrites to you119 in · 0 back
- notifications@docsend.exampleWrites to you21 in · 0 back
- no-reply@icegate.exampleWrites to you18 in · 0 back
- billing@airtel.exampleWrites to you13 in · 0 back
- newsletter@maritimegazette.exampleWrites to you13 in · 0 back
- no-reply@hdfcbank.exampleWrites to you8 in · 0 back
From 474 messages over 25/07/2026 to 22/10/2026. Nobody ever replies to the right-hand list, which is why those are the jobs that arrive rather than the jobs that get asked.
| What came up | Times | People who asked | Usually answered in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Out for delivery alerts | 89 | 1 | never answered |
| Shipment status questions from customers | 44 | 6 | 45 minutes |
| Proof of delivery alerts | 30 | 1 | never answered |
| E-way bill alerts | 18 | 1 | never answered |
| Documents pending alerts | 16 | 6 | never answered |
| Airtel bill ready alerts | 13 | 1 | never answered |
| Maritime gazette freight rates alerts | 13 | 1 | never answered |
| Proof of delivery questions from customers | 11 | 6 | 5 hours |
143 replies you wrote; 22 words on average, 3 sentences; 42% use contractions
in 22 words over 3 sentences on average
On the replies that had a sign-off at all.
8 jobs, in three shapes. Somebody asks, and the same answer gets written again. Something arrives on its own and has to be dealt with. Nothing triggers it, so it is the one that slips. Together about 15 hours a month — an estimate, and each one shows how it was worked out.
Shipment status questions from customers
Replies to a request- 44 messages in 89 days, usually answered in 45 minutes. For example: Status of consignment MFL/2600?; Status of consignment MFL/2601?
- 6 different people asked, and you answered 44 of 44
How we worked this out
44 of these in 89 days, so about 15 a month, times 30 minutes each, where your own median reply to these was 45 minutes, capped at 30 because most of that is waiting rather than writing, which comes to 443 minutes a month. An estimate, not a measurement of what you would actually save.
Somebody is waiting to be told, and they will ask again if nobody does.
Proof of delivery questions from customers
Replies to a request- 11 messages in 89 days, usually answered in 5 hours. For example: POD for MFL/2800; POD for MFL/2801
- 6 different people asked, and you answered 11 of 11
How we worked this out
11 of these in 89 days, so about 4 a month, times 30 minutes each, where your own median reply to these was 5 hours, capped at 30 because most of that is waiting rather than writing, which comes to 111 minutes a month. An estimate, not a measurement of what you would actually save.
Somebody is waiting to be told, and they will ask again if nobody does.
Rate enquiries to transporters
Chases something nobody asked for- 45 messages you started in 89 days. For example: Rate enquiry — 2x20ft Pune to Chennai; Rate enquiry — 2x20ft Pune to Chennai
- you write this one yourself, 45 times, to 3 different people, and nobody asks you to
How we worked this out
45 of these you wrote yourself in 89 days, so about 15 a month, times 6 minutes to write one, which comes to 91 minutes a month. The six minutes is assumed; we have no way to measure how long you spend writing one. An estimate.
You are waiting on a price before you can quote. Every day it takes is a day the customer is getting a number from somebody else.
Overdue invoice chasing, to customers
Chases something nobody asked for- 12 messages you started in 89 days. For example: Invoice INV-4100 — payment overdue; Invoice INV-4101 — payment overdue
- you write this one yourself, 12 times, to 6 different people, and nobody asks you to
How we worked this out
12 of these you wrote yourself in 89 days, so about 4 a month, times 6 minutes to write one, which comes to 24 minutes a month. The six minutes is assumed; we have no way to measure how long you spend writing one. An estimate.
₹8,43,000 is owed across these, and every week it sits there is a week of somebody else's cash flow. (₹8,43,000 named in these messages.)
E-way bill renewals
Acts on an alert- 18 alerts from no-reply@icegate.example in 89 days. For example: E-way bill 90000 expiring in 24 hours; E-way bill 90005 expiring in 24 hours
- it arrives 18 times and you never reply to it. The work it is asking for happens elsewhere
How we worked this out
18 of these arrived in 89 days, so about 6 a month, times 4 minutes to act on one, which comes to 24 minutes a month. The four minutes is assumed. An estimate, and it undercounts: the cost of one of these being missed is not the four minutes.
A document lapses if nobody acts, and a lapsed document means a penalty and a shipment that cannot move.
Document chasing, to customers
Chases something nobody asked for- 16 messages you started in 89 days. For example: Documents pending for MFL/2700; Documents pending for MFL/2701
- you write this one yourself, 16 times, to 6 different people, and nobody asks you to
How we worked this out
16 of these you wrote yourself in 89 days, so about 5 a month, times 6 minutes to write one, which comes to 32 minutes a month. The six minutes is assumed; we have no way to measure how long you spend writing one. An estimate.
Somebody is waiting to be told, and they will ask again if nobody does.
Out for delivery alerts
Acts on an alert- 89 alerts from alerts@cargotrack.example in 89 days. For example: Consignment MFL/2600 out for delivery; Consignment MFL/2601 out for delivery
- it arrives 89 times and you never reply to it. The work it is asking for happens elsewhere
How we worked this out
89 of these arrived in 89 days, so about 30 a month, times 4 minutes to act on one, which comes to 120 minutes a month. The four minutes is assumed. An estimate, and it undercounts: the cost of one of these being missed is not the four minutes.
Somebody is waiting to be told, and they will ask again if nobody does.
Proof of delivery alerts
Acts on an alert- 30 alerts from alerts@cargotrack.example in 89 days. For example: Proof of delivery uploaded for MFL/2600; Proof of delivery uploaded for MFL/2603
- it arrives 30 times and you never reply to it. The work it is asking for happens elsewhere
How we worked this out
30 of these arrived in 89 days, so about 10 a month, times 4 minutes to act on one, which comes to 40 minutes a month. The four minutes is assumed. An estimate, and it undercounts: the cost of one of these being missed is not the four minutes.
Somebody is paying attention right now, and the moment passes.
5 agents come out of these jobs. They are on the last screen, with the evidence each one rests on and a button to build it.
Start with your own ›Everything above is a screen. If you would rather press the buttons — read the practice mailbox, pick one of the jobs and watch the agent get built — you can, in a workspace of your own at this made-up company. Nothing real is connected to it and nothing is sent anywhere.
The same screen, from your own mailbox, takes one Google grant and about five minutes of reading.