Import, Export and Foreign Trade
In import, export, and foreign trade processes, commercial negotiations and operational tracking are carried out together. Customer demand, quotation, sales order, supply, document preparation, logistics, customs, and financial transactions are different stages of the same business.
XtraCRM combines CRM, sales, purchasing, inventory, tasks, documents, and finance features, enabling foreign trade operations to be tracked from the first customer meeting to order delivery and collection from a single center.
How does the process work in the industry?
The export process usually starts with a product and price request from a customer abroad. The product, quantity, currency, delivery method, target country, and requested delivery date are determined.
After the quotation and negotiation process, a sales order is created. The stock or production status of the products is checked. Necessary documents are prepared, and the transportation and customs operation is planned.
In the import process, the product to be purchased, supplier, price, currency, payment method, and expected delivery date are determined. After the purchase order, loading, documentation, transportation, and customs stages are monitored.
When the product is received, inventory and cost procedures are completed. Payment and collection processes are monitored with customer or supplier invoices.
How is XtraCRM adapted to your company's working style?
Every foreign trade company has different products, countries they work with, delivery conditions, and documentation processes. In XtraCRM, custom fields, tasks, and workflows can be configured according to your company's current system.
You can create your export process with stages such as "New Request, Pricing, Proposal Submitted, Customer Approval, Order, Product Preparation, Document Preparation, Loading, Customs, In Transit, Delivered, and Collection."
You can track your import process with stages such as "Supplier Proposal, Purchase Approval, Order Placed, Awaiting Production, Document Control, Loading, In Transit, Customs, Goods Receipt, and Payment."
You can define different processes for direct export, import, transit trade, distributorship, or project-based foreign trade operations.
Foreign trade specific fields you can use
Operation or file number
Type of import or export
Customer and supplier
Sender and receiver
Country of origin
Country of departure and arrival
Loading and delivery point
Product and quantity
HS code information
Currency
Exchange rate information
Payment method
Delivery method
Planned loading date
Estimated arrival date
Type of transportation
Shipping company
Customs broker
Container or transport reference
Document status
Customs status
Delivery status
Invoice and collection status
Responsible operations personnel
Letters of credit, bank, insurance or inspection information your company needs can also be added as custom fields.
Manage your overseas customers and suppliers
Customers, distributors, dealers, suppliers and other business partners can be managed as company records.
Branches in different countries, authorized persons, communication languages, currency and payment preferences of a company can be tracked with custom fields.
Past quotes, sales orders, purchase orders, negotiations, documents and financial transactions can be viewed in the same company account.
Thus sales, operations and finance teams can access the same up-to-date information about the business partner.
Track new market and customer opportunities
Potential customers found through trade fairs, references, websites, advertisements or direct sales activities can be recorded in the CRM.
Country, sector, interested products, estimated volume and decision time can be tracked. New opportunities can be assigned to the related export sales manager.
Tasks can be created for sending samples, catalogs, price lists or meetings. Reminders can be set for opportunities without activity for a long time.
Reasons such as price, delivery, payment terms, document requirements or competitor preference can be recorded for lost opportunities.
Manage quotes in different currencies
A quote including product, quantity, price, discount, tax, currency and delivery terms can be prepared for the customer.
Preparation, review, presentation to the customer, revision and approval stages of the quote can be tracked.
Exchange rate information used during transactions in quotes and orders issued in different currencies can be recorded. Thus, the rate and currency used to create the commercial document can be preserved.
XtraCRM is not a foreign exchange market forecast or exchange rate risk management system; it tracks the currency and exchange rate information used in commercial records.
Record delivery and payment terms
Delivery and payment terms used in international trade can be added as custom fields to quotes, orders or operation records.
Delivery method, transport responsibility, insurance, loading point and cost sharing can be kept in fields defined by the company.
Payment methods such as cash payment, cash against goods, cash against documents, bank transfer or letter of credit can be tracked with process fields.
The legal and financial consequences of these conditions should be separately evaluated by foreign trade specialists, banks, and relevant consultants.
Track sales orders
Approved offers can be converted into sales orders. Customer, products, quantities, prices, currency, delivery date, and transportation method can be recorded in the order.
The product preparation, documentation, loading, customs, transportation, and delivery stages of the order can be tracked with specialized workflows.
Production or purchasing may be required for products that are not in stock. Tasks related to the order can be assigned to sales, warehouse, operations, and finance teams.
Manage import purchasing processes
Purchase orders can be created for products to be procured from suppliers. Product, quantity, price, currency, and expected delivery date can be tracked.
The supplier's production or preparation status can be monitored with tasks. Responsible persons can be assigned for necessary document and product checks before loading.
Delayed deliveries or changes in quantity can be recorded. After goods acceptance, the delivered quantity and supplier documents can be linked with purchase records.
Monitor product and stock status
Imported or exported products can be recorded with code, name, category, unit, and other commercial information.
Foreign trade-specific information such as HS code, origin, packaging, weight, or volume can be added to the product card with special fields.
Existing stocks and warehouse movements can be tracked. Products that need to be allocated or prepared for sales orders can be evaluated together with operation records.
If batch, serial, or mandatory product traceability due to regulations is required, this need should be separately confirmed and an appropriate structure should be established.
Create document checklists
The necessary documents may vary for each type of operation. You can create document checklists for import and export processes.
The following documents can be tracked according to the structure of the operation:
Commercial invoice
Proforma invoice
Packing list
Transport document
Certificate of origin
Movement certificate
Insurance certificate
Analysis or compliance certificate
Permits and licenses
Customs documents
Bank or payment documents
Customer or supplier contracts
The preparation, review, approval, and delivery status of the document can be tracked with tasks. Files can be stored in the related operation record.
Which documents are mandatory should be determined by the authorized foreign trade specialist according to the product, country, and transaction type.
Track customs operations
Customs, consultant, file number, declaration, or operation reference involved in the transaction can be recorded with custom fields.
Document delivery, inspection, declaration, examination, tax or delivery stages can be arranged according to the company’s workflow.
Tasks awaiting information or documents from the customs consultant can be assigned to the operation manager.
XtraCRM is not software that prepares customs declarations or directly performs transactions on official customs systems. It provides task, document, and status tracking for customs operations.
Manage shipment and transportation processes
Different custom fields and workflows can be created according to land, sea, air, or rail transport.
The following information can be kept in the transportation record:
Shipping company
Type of transport
Loading point
Destination point
Planned loading date
Estimated arrival date
Container or vehicle information
Transport reference number
Insurance status
Shipment status
Recipient
Delivery date
Description and reason for delay
XtraCRM is not a live vehicle or ship tracking system. It enables the management of updated information obtained from external tracking systems by adding it to the operation record along with task and customer communication.
Inform customers and suppliers
Tasks can be created to communicate with customers or suppliers at important stages of the operation.
Waiting for documents, completion of loading, delay, customs results or delivery information can be recorded in the customer history.
Phone calls, emails, WhatsApp messages, and notes can be viewed in the relevant company account within the authorized permissions.
Thus, it prevents different employees from giving conflicting information to the same business partner.
Track sample processes
Product samples sent before sales can be managed separately through opportunity or task processes.
The sample's product, quantity, shipping date, cargo information, customer, and feedback status can be recorded.
After the sample arrives, a task can be assigned to the sales representative to contact the customer. Successfully completed sample studies can be converted into a quotation or order opportunity.
Manage fairs and overseas visits
Attended fairs, trade delegations, and customer visits can be planned as projects or events.
Companies to be met, appointments, tasks, travel documents, and expenses can be recorded.
Customer leads obtained during the event can be transferred to the CRM. Follow-up tasks can be assigned to the sales team for meetings to be held after the fair.
It can be evaluated how many opportunities, quotations, and orders each event has generated.
Record operational expenses
Transportation, insurance, customs brokerage, storage, port, bank, and other operational expenses can be associated with the relevant order or file.
The expense category, date, amount, currency, supplier, and document can be recorded.
For import transactions, related expenses can be viewed under the same operation to evaluate the product cost.
XtraCRM is not an automatic customs value or import cost calculation system; it manages the recording and approval process of cost items determined by the company.
Track billing, payment, and collection
Customer invoices, supplier invoices, due dates, and payment statuses can be monitored through financial records.
Transactions conducted in different currencies can be recorded with their own currency and exchange rate information.
Tasks can be assigned to the customer representative for collections approaching due dates or overdue. Supplier payment dates can be monitored by the finance team.
Bank transactions, letters of credit, or other specialized foreign trade financing processes should be conducted separately through banking and financial systems when necessary.
Manage contract and distributorship processes
Distributorship, dealership, sales, or supply contracts can be stored in the relevant company account.
The contract’s country, region, product scope, start and end dates, goals, and renewal conditions can be recorded with custom fields.
Tasks can be assigned to responsible persons for contracts with approaching end dates. New term negotiations and revisions can be tracked in the customer history.
Track compliance and document durations
Issuance and expiration dates of certificates, permits, analyses, or other documents related to products, suppliers, or customers can be recorded.
Reminders can be created for relevant employees for documents nearing expiration.
Official compliance requirements depending on country, product, and transaction type must be additionally assessed by the company. XtraCRM does not automatically verify legal or customs compliance.
Set authorities according to task distribution
Different access and operation permissions can be defined for sales, foreign trade operations, purchasing, warehouse, finance, and management teams.
While the sales team manages customers and offers, the operations team can track documents, customs, and shipment stages. The purchasing team can manage supplier orders, and the finance team can handle payment and collection processes.
Prices, discounts, payments, expenses, and important commercial documents can be accessed only by authorized users.
Create a measurable structure for management
Management screens can display new foreign trade opportunities, pending offers, open sales and purchase orders, operations awaiting documents, ongoing shipments, and financial tracking.
The following information can be evaluated by customer, supplier, country, product, currency, responsible employee, or period:
New customers and sales opportunities
Conversion rate of offers to orders
Import and export orders
Product preparation and stock status
Pending purchase transactions
Missing or pending approval documents
Loading and delivery dates
Delayed operations
Customs procedures
Operation expenses
Customer and supplier balances
Billing, payment, and collection status
Country and product-based sales
Upcoming contract and document expirations
XtraCRM does not force your company into a fixed foreign trade model. By structuring customer and supplier records, quotes, orders, custom fields, documents, tasks, and financial processes according to your own operational system, you can make the entire process from initial commercial negotiation to product delivery and collection more organized, measurable, and traceable.