Hartree Partners, a global energy and commodities firm headquartered in New York, partnered with Struto to enhance its customer support operations through HubSpot Service Hub. As the business continued to evolve, there was an opportunity to bring customer communications, ticket management and project-related activities into a single platform, creating greater operational visibility and a more connected service experience. Working closely with the Hartree team, Struto designed a solution that combined structured service processes with intelligent automation, laying the foundation for a scalable support and project management operations.
Background
Hartree Partners operates across global energy and commodities markets, helping corporations, financial institutions and governments navigate complex physical and financial markets. Delivering this level of service requires well-coordinated internal processes that enable teams to respond efficiently to customer enquiries while maintaining visibility across ongoing work.
As the organisation evolved, customer communications and operational workflows were supported across multiple business tools. While these processes had served the business well, bringing customer interactions, support activities and project management together within a single platform presented an opportunity to improve visibility, streamline collaboration and create more consistent service workflows.
To support this next stage of operational maturity, Hartree partnered with Struto to implement HubSpot Service Hub.
Situation
Hartree wanted to create a more connected approach to managing customer support.
Customer enquiries covering a variety of support activities were received through a shared service mailbox, while operational activities associated with customer onboarding and service delivery were managed through separate processes. Although these workflows enabled teams to manage their responsibilities effectively, they required users to work across different environments to gain a complete view of customer activity.
The objective was to create a central workspace where customer communications, support requests and related project work could be managed together. At the same time, Hartree wanted to make practical use of HubSpot's AI capabilities to improve ticket management while ensuring the solution remained efficient and scalable.
Solution
Struto implemented HubSpot Service Hub to provide Hartree with a central platform for managing customer support operations.
Customer communications were consolidated within HubSpot Help Desk, giving support teams a single environment for managing inbound and outbound interactions while improving visibility across customer requests.
To help organise support activity, Struto designed a layered ticket categorisation strategy. Keyword-based categorisation was used to automatically classify the majority of incoming requests, providing a fast and consistent way to route tickets through the support process.
For enquiries that could not be confidently categorised using predefined rules, HubSpot's AI-powered Data Agent was introduced as a secondary layer. Rather than replacing structured automation, AI complemented it by analysing more complex enquiries and assigning the most appropriate category.
This approach allowed Hartree to benefit from AI where it delivered the greatest value while maintaining efficient use of HubSpot credits.
To further connect operational workflows, Struto also implemented HubSpot's Projects object, enabling onboarding activities and project work to be managed alongside customer support tickets. Bringing these processes together within the same platform gave teams greater visibility across the customer journey and reduced the need to switch between different systems.
Challenges
The project centred on designing a support process that balanced structure, flexibility and intelligent automation.
One of the key considerations was determining how customer enquiries should be categorised. While AI provided a powerful way to interpret complex requests, using it to process every ticket would not necessarily have been the most efficient approach, particularly as support volumes increased.
Instead, a hybrid model was implemented. Structured keyword-based automation handled routine enquiries quickly and consistently, while AI was reserved for requests requiring additional interpretation. This created a solution that combined the reliability of predefined workflows with the adaptability of artificial intelligence, ensuring the platform remained both effective and commercially sustainable.
"Using AI effectively isn't about applying it to every process. It's about understanding where it creates the greatest value. By combining structured automation with AI, we created a solution that was both intelligent and practical for the way Hartree works."
Jared Wiltshire, Product Owner: HubSpot, Struto
Outcome
Hartree now manages customer support operations through a centralised HubSpot Service Hub environment that brings customer communications, ticket management and project-related activities together in one place.
Support teams benefit from greater visibility across incoming enquiries, while structured ticket categorisation provides a more consistent way of managing requests. By linking project work directly to customer support activities, teams can also manage onboarding and service delivery within the same operational environment.
The result is a more connected support operation that provides greater visibility across customer interactions while establishing a scalable foundation for future growth.
Results
The implementation demonstrates how thoughtful service design can improve operational efficiency without adding unnecessary complexity.
By bringing customer communications, ticket management and project workflows together within HubSpot Service Hub, Hartree now benefits from a more connected support environment that improves visibility across teams and creates greater consistency in the way customer enquiries are managed.
The project also highlights a practical approach to AI adoption. Rather than relying solely on artificial intelligence, Struto designed a solution that combines structured automation with AI-assisted categorisation, ensuring AI is applied where it delivers the greatest operational value while supporting responsible and efficient use of platform resources.
Future scope
With a connected support operation now established, Hartree has a strong foundation for continuing to develop its use of HubSpot Service Hub.
As operational requirements evolve, there are opportunities to further enhance reporting, automation and service workflows while continuing to refine the use of AI across support processes. By building on a well-structured foundation, Hartree is well positioned to expand its use of the platform as future needs emerge.
