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Partner Lead Reception API Platform (alias PSR)

Partner Lead Reception API Platform (alias PSR)

Centralized API platform routing real estate leads from dozens of external partners to the commercial CRM.

February 2021 - 2024
~3 years
Project Manager / Product Owner - API Platform Owner
Groupe Pichet
REST APIMicrosoft APIMAdobe Campaign v7Dynamics 365AWS EKSKubernetesK8sDockerGitLab CIJira

Partner APIs

Dozens

Integrated and maintained

Lead Volume

~**K/day

~1 lead every 2 seconds peak

Lead Loss Rate

~0%

Zero major loss incidents

Onboarding Time

weeks -> days

Reduced from weeks to days

Presentation

Project definition and scope

The project in a nutshell

The PSR is the centralized API platform for partner lead reception that I led. Every partner connects via a dedicated API endpoint, which normalizes the data and transmits it to the commercial CRM through the marketing routing layer and the Microsoft API Manager (APIM).

As Technical Lead and API Platform Owner, I supervised the integration of each new partner API and the platform's functional evolutions, coordinating with the marketing teams and external technical service providers. The PSR is a business-critical system: every lead lost or incorrectly routed translates directly into a missed sales opportunity in a highly competitive real estate market.

What the platform is

Centralized REST API platform for multi-partner lead reception, normalization, and CRM routing

Business domain

Real Estate / PropTech - Lead Management (B2B internal + B2B external partners)

Functional Scope
  • Standardized REST APIs per partner.
  • Lead data normalized regardless of partner format.
  • Routing to the commercial CRM.
  • Anomaly detection: blocked leads, duplicates, format errors.
  • Centralized credentials and access via APIM.
  • Real-time lead quality monitoring with alerts.
Key Architecture Decisions

Managed API Gateway

OAuth, throttling and per-partner analytics out of the box, instead of rebuilding it in-house.

Routing via a marketing enrichment layer

Enrichment and deduplication before CRM injection, to preserve the commercial workflow.

One dedicated endpoint per partner

Isolated normalization logic, easier debugging, no complex runtime configuration.

Objectives, Context, Stakes & Risks

Strategic vision and constraints

Goals and success criteria
  • 1Onboard dozens of external partners without per-partner CRM-side development.
  • 2Keep major lead loss incidents at zero during and after each onboarding.
  • 3Cut new partner onboarding time from weeks to days.
  • 4Enforce auditable credential and access governance across all partners.
  • 5Detect processing anomalies within minutes instead of days.
Why this project came to life

The project was initiated within the SI Marketing team at Groupe Pichet, where the growing number of external lead sources (real estate portals, advertising partners, marketing platforms) created the need for a single entry point to centralize and normalize incoming leads before routing them to the commercial CRM.

The existing landscape was fragmented: each partner had its own data format, authentication method, and delivery protocol. Without the PSR, integrating a new partner required custom development on the CRM side - an unsustainable approach as the partner ecosystem grew. The PSR was designed to absorb this heterogeneity and provide a clean, standardized interface to the downstream systems.

Business and strategic stakes

Leads are the lifeblood of commercial activity in real estate. Each lead represents a potential buyer, and the market is fiercely competitive: losing a lead to a routing error or a delayed integration means giving that prospect to a competitor. With dozens of partners generating leads simultaneously, the PSR became the single most critical data pipeline feeding the commercial teams' daily pipeline.

The commercial impact was direct and measurable: a partner API down for a single day could mean dozens of lost prospects - each worth potentially hundreds of thousands of euros in property sales.

Security & RGPD Compliance
  • Per-partner credential isolation via APIM: unique API keys, scoped permissions.
  • Systematic API key rotation via APIM lifecycle management.
  • GDPR compliance: HTTPS only, no persistent storage in intermediate layers, CRM as sole data repository.
  • Formal security audit during the project → hardened access controls and updated firewall rules.
  • Gateway-level input validation: format checks, payload size limits, malformed request rejection.
Risks identified upfront

Lead Loss

Any API failure or routing error directly translates into lost commercial prospects - unrecoverable in a competitive real estate market.

Format Heterogeneity

Each partner sends data in its own format with different required fields, validation rules, and encoding - making generic processing impossible.

Credential Sprawl

Managing API keys, tokens, and access for dozens of partners across APIM requires rigorous credential lifecycle management.

Marketing Routing Layer Dependency

The v6 to v7 migration of the marketing routing layer required URL changes across all partner configurations - a single misconfiguration could silently drop leads.

Lead Lifecycle Pipeline
End-to-end lead lifecycle from partner source to CRM

The Steps - What I Did

Chronological progression of the project

Phase 1
Platform Foundation & First Partner
Feb 2021
  • I integrated the first partner API: VotreAppartementNeuf
  • I laid down the PSR platform architecture: reception, normalization and routing
  • On the security side, I configured the Microsoft API Manager credentials for the commercial CRM
  • To supervise the platform, I set up SOFT Monitor and the email alert notifications
Phase 2
Rapid Partner Onboarding
Jun - Dec 2022
  • I integrated the SeLoger API, a major real estate portal
  • On the marketing side, I integrated the Myopla API
  • I wired up Cooper Advertising and deployed the integration in pre-production
  • In parallel, I integrated Akrivia Leads and Visibilitie
  • In December 2022, I integrated the Clovis API
  • To enrich the leads, I added the "Commentaire" and "Apport" fields in the API
Phase 3
Stabilization & Evolutions
Jan - Feb 2023
  • I integrated the Fine Media API, the final documented partner
  • On the quality side, I resolved routing anomalies and handled blocked leads
  • I migrated all URLs from the marketing routing layer v6 to v7
  • On a complex incident, I diagnosed and resolved a cross-system lead-routing anomaly
  • To secure the platform, I conducted a formal security review of the infrastructure
Phase 4
Architecture Refactoring
2024
  • I led the major PSR refactoring around a new SeLoger API architecture
  • On the marketing routing layer, I redesigned the API integration
  • To gain robustness, I improved error handling, retry logic and observability
  • To secure team continuity, I documented the full partner onboarding playbook

The Actors - Interactions

Who I interacted with directly and how I orchestrated the collaboration

How I coordinated marketing, IT and external partners

I led the PSR project at the intersection of marketing, IT and external partners. For each new partner integration, I coordinated the partner's technical team (for API specifications), the SI Marketing team (for business validation) and the CRM team (for lead routing confirmation). I served as the single technical point of contact for all partner integrations.

  • Franck C. (Manager) - With him, I validated integrations and prioritized the partner onboarding backlog.
  • Cyril M. (SI Marketing) - With him, I coordinated technical specs and business requirements with partners.
  • Emilie D. (Prestataire externe) - With her, I maintained the PSR Confluence documentation and knowledge base.
  • External partners (SeLoger, Myopla, Cooper...) - With them, I gathered API specs and test credentials, and I validated each integration before go-live.
Technical Leadership & Knowledge Transfer
  • I documented the full partner integration playbook on Confluence.
  • I maintained the API documentation across 5 versions (v1 to v5).
  • On the external partners side, I trained the teams on API specs, authentication and test procedures.

The Results

Impact for me and for the company

For Me - Skills Acquired & Reinforced Through This Project
  • I built enterprise-scale expertise in API integration patterns (auth, normalization, routing, error handling).
  • On the posture side, I learned to orchestrate a multi-stakeholder ecosystem across marketing, IT and external partners.
  • I took ownership of a business-critical platform where every failure hit commercial results.
  • This project changed the way I work: I now think in terms of 'single point of accountability' and I invest in monitoring tooling from day one on any critical platform.
Value delivered for Groupe Pichet
  • Dozens of partner APIs integrated, diversifying lead acquisition channels.
  • Single entry point, removing the need for CRM-side custom dev per partner.
  • Real-time monitoring, cutting silent lead loss from days to minutes.
  • New partner onboarding reduced from weeks to days via the PSR playbook.

The Aftermath

What happened after delivery

Where the project stands today

After the initial wave (2021-2023), the PSR entered a stabilization phase and kept processing leads daily. The 2024 refactoring modernized the SeLoger integration and the marketing routing layer.

Today, the PSR remains the single entry point for all external lead acquisition at Groupe Pichet. The onboarding playbook I documented lets the team integrate new partners autonomously.

Technical Effort Distribution

My Critical Reflection

How I judge this project with hindsight

What worked and why
  • I held an incremental partner-by-partner approach: each integration validated before the next, zero major lead loss.
  • With APIM as the gateway, I isolated credentials, handled throttling and kept partners away from direct access to internal systems.
  • On real-time monitoring, the setup I put in place surfaces issues in minutes instead of days.
  • I built a normalization layer that unifies dozens of heterogeneous formats into a single clean CRM-compatible schema.
What could have been better
  • On the v6 to v7 migration, I had to do manual URL updates across every partner configuration - I could have tooled it further.
  • On deduplication, I stayed basic and edge cases required manual reviews that I could have automated.
  • On end-to-end integration tests, I did not automate enough - the process remained manual and time-consuming.
  • I often produced documentation after the fact rather than during development - I would have gained from writing it continuously.
Trade-offs & Technical Arbitrages

Accepted technical debt on deduplication in Phase 2

I intentionally shipped a basic dedup to hit the 6-partner deadline and planned a proper rework for 2024.

Refused to bypass the marketing routing layer

I kept traceability and the commercial workflow intact rather than shaving 200 ms off the path.

Dedicated endpoints per partner

I accepted more code to keep each integration isolated and easy to debug.

No async retry queue in Phase 1

I started synchronous for easier monitoring, then I added the retry in Phase 4.

The lasting lessons this project brought me
  • I learned that in lead management, speed matters as much as accuracy - leads go cold fast.
  • I saw that an API gateway layer (like APIM) is essential when dealing with multiple external partners.
  • I measured that partner-by-partner validation with the business teams is non-negotiable, even for technically identical integrations.
  • I observed that a well-documented onboarding playbook outlives its author - the best long-term investment for team autonomy.

Related journey

Professional experience linked to this achievement

Technical Lead · Flows and Products: content and enterprise integration

Skills applied

Technical and soft skills applied

Hard Skills

Architecture & Design5/5

Software & System Architecture

End-to-end architecture: API gateway, normalization, enrichment layer, CRM routing - Partner-facing REST endpoints, data contracts and 5 API versions

DevOps & Cloud4/5

DevOps, Cloud & Production Industrialization

SOFT Monitor dashboards, real-time email alerts, per-partner flow observability

Security4/5

Application Security & Compliance

APIM credential isolation, GDPR compliance and 2023 security audit

Image gallery

Project screenshots and visuals

Groupe Pichet architecture committee presentation showing objectives, governance process and IS vision diagram
Architecture committee - Objectives and governance
Detailed technical flow diagram showing partner data integration sequence with decision points and API calls
Technical flow - Partner data integration sequence
Legacy-to-CRM data flow diagram showing API calls, event processing and database synchronization
Data flow - legacy-to-CRM event processing
Azure API Management architecture showing Active Directory auth, API Gateway, MongoDB, Power BI and Terraform infrastructure
Architecture - Azure API Management platform

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