CRM for fresh produce exporters

A fresh produce exporter sells fruit and vegetables that spoil, so every sale is a race. Citrus, grapes, berries, avocados, onions or tomatoes leave the packhouse on a schedule, travel in a cold chain and have to arrive in sellable condition. A CRM for that trade has to hold each buyer's programme, their weekly volumes and the claims that follow a bad arrival.

In PromptLab, a deal carries expected volume and a next follow-up date, quotes are built from your products and a price list, and a sales order on the account carries the Incoterm, payment terms and planned delivery date. The wider export routine is in the export order checklist.

How does fresh produce actually sell?

Buyers are importers and wholesalers, ripening and distribution companies, and supermarket buying teams, with some food processors. Many buy through a programme: an agreed weekly volume across the season, with prices set weekly or per shipment. The exporter's job is to fill the programme from its growers and packhouse, week after week.

Seasons are short and fixed by the crop, so the sales year is compressed. Before the season, you agree programmes, volumes and packaging. During it, you confirm availability and prices every week, often daily by messaging. After it, you review how each buyer's programme went and plan the next.

Quality is judged on arrival. Buyers inspect for size, colour, firmness, defects and shelf life, and when a pallet fails, they raise a claim, usually with photos and an inspection report. How you handle claims decides whether the programme comes back next season.

What do buyers ask for?

Requirements differ by product and market, so confirm them with your quality team and the buyer:

• Grower and packhouse standards. Retail buyers often ask for a food-safety certification such as GLOBALG.A.P. and records of residue testing.
• A phytosanitary certificate and a certificate of origin for the shipment.
• Packing details: carton type, pallet configuration, labelling, and the pallet count on each container. See what is a packing list.
• Temperature control for the journey, with the container or air shipment recorded.
• Documents for the bank or buyer, such as the commercial invoice and bill of lading for sea freight.

Sea shipments are often sold FOB, CFR or CIF, with a refrigerated container as the unit. Those are sea-only rules, and for a container handed to a terminal before loading the ICC points to FCA, CPT or CIP instead. Air freight is common for the most delicate products and needs one of the rules for any mode of transport, such as FCA or CPT. See what is FOB and what is CIF. Some sales are priced up front, and others are settled after sale from the buyer's results, so write the pricing basis on every offer.

What pipeline stages fit an exporter?

PromptLab has one deal pipeline per workspace. Use a deal per programme or per large shipment, tell products apart with a custom field, and save a view per product. A workable set of stages:

What must the CRM track?

• Buyers and contacts. The category buyer sets the programme, the technical team checks quality, and the accounts team pays. Record each.
• Product, size, pack and season, as custom fields on products and deals.
• Weekly volume. Deals have expected volume built in. Keep the programme volume there and each shipment as a sales order.
• Claims. PromptLab has no built-in claims record. Log each claim as a note on the account with the shipment, the photos and the outcome, and create a task for whoever settles it.
• Payment terms and credit. See what is a credit limit and what is a credit note for how corrections are usually issued.
• Messages. Buyers confirm in WhatsApp and Telegram as often as email. The shared Inbox links each thread to the buyer's contact, and the messages show in the account's activity.

How do you set this up in PromptLab?

1. 1

   Import buyers and products

   Bring in accounts, contacts and your product list from CSV or Excel. Add product fields for size and pack, and an account field for the buyer's programme. Store each account's preferred Incoterm.

2. 2

   Open a deal per programme

   Set the expected volume and the next follow-up date. An expected close date is a custom date field you can use for the programme start.

3. 3

   Quote weekly offers

   Build the quote from your products and the buyer's price list, and put the pricing basis, pack and shipment week in Notes. A quote has no expiry field, so write when the offer ends.

4. 4

   Create a sales order per shipment

   Create each order on the account. Choose the Incoterm, set payment terms and the planned delivery date, and raise the invoice from the order.

5. 5

   Handle claims fast

   Note the claim on the account the day it arrives, with the shipment and photos, and create a task with an owner. A workflow can post to Slack when a task is created, so claims don't wait.

6. 6

   Post-season review

   List each buyer's volumes and notes, and create a task for each owner to plan next season's programme.

How does PromptLab compare for exporters?

Swipe the table sideways to see every CRM →

Close is a calling-first CRM priced from $9 to $139, billed annually. Quotes, samples and price lists are missing, pipelines start at $35 a seat and workflows at $99. Attio is a well-designed AI-native CRM at $35 to $79 a seat, billed annually, with a free plan for 3 seats, but quotes, price lists and orders are for you to build.

Pipedrive is one of the easiest sales CRMs to learn. It has no sample tracking, and quotes wait for Premium at $59 a seat a month, billed annually. See the Close and Pipedrive comparisons. Prices are as checked on 30 September 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What should a CRM for a fresh produce exporter include?

Accounts and contacts, a deal per programme, quotes for weekly offers, a sales order per shipment, and one place for every message. PromptLab has these on every plan.

Can PromptLab track quality claims?

It has no built-in claims record. Log each claim as a note on the account, create a task with an owner, and keep the photos in the account's Files tab.

Does the CRM manage cold chain or stock?

No. It holds the commercial side: buyers, offers, orders and messages. Keep temperature records and stock in your packhouse or logistics system.

How do I run weekly programmes?

Keep the programme as a deal with expected volume, and create each week's shipment as a sales order on the account. Tasks don't repeat, so create the next follow-up when you close the last.

Is there a free trial?

Basic and Professional come with a 14-day free trial, with no card needed. There is no free plan.