Integrations Overview: What Velocity Can Sync Across CRM + TMS

What Velocity Can Sync (High-Level Object List)

Velocity can typically exchange data across six core object groups. Your exact scope depends on your integration method (connector, API, webhooks, middleware) and which system you choose as the system of record.

1) Customer Identity (Companies and Contacts)

• Accounts/companies (customer profiles)
• Contacts (emails, phones, roles)
• Customer IDs/account codes (unique keys)

2) Commercial Pipeline (Leads and Opportunities)

• Leads / inbound requests
• Opportunities/deals (pipeline stages, owners)
• Commercial notes and activity signals (optional)

3) Quotes and Pricing Outputs

• Quotes (quote ID, status, validity)
• Quote line items (base, accessorials, surcharges)
• Price totals, currency, service level assumptions

4) Rates (Structured Price Inputs)

• Contract rates (lane, equipment, validity)
• Surcharges/accessorials and charge codes
• Rate versions and effective dates

5) Bookings and Shipment References

• Booking/shipment reference numbers
• Core shipment details (mode, lane, equipment, dates)
• Operational instructions (optional, structured)

6) Visibility and Documents

• Tracking milestones (departed, arrived, delivered)
• Exceptions (flags + reason codes)
• Documents (quote PDFs, confirmations, B/L, AWB, invoices, POD)

CRM vs TMS: Where Each Object Typically Belongs

To avoid duplication and conflicting updates, most organizations keep customer + pipeline in CRM, and execution in TMS while Velocity sits upstream to unify quoting and handoff.

Typical “home” for each object

CRM (commercial system)

• Accounts/contacts (customer identity)
• Leads and deals/opportunities (pipeline)
• Ownership (sales owner, territory)
• Sales reporting (conversion, forecast)

TMS (execution system)

• Bookings/shipments (operational record)
• Milestones, exceptions, tasks (ops workflow)
• Operational documents and status truth
• Billing handoff and invoice triggers (if TMS/ERP-connected)

Velocity (pricing + quoting layer, plus visibility surfaces)

• Centralized rate & quote management
• Quote workflows (draft/sent/revised/accepted)
• Booking initiation triggers and structured handoff payloads
• Visibility and documentation access (depending on setup)

If you already run a mature TMS, the integration goal is usually: keep TMS as the operational backbone, and use Velocity to improve upstream speed, consistency, and customer experience.

Sync Direction Options (Push, Pull, Bi-Directional)

Your integration can be configured in one of three directions per object group:

Push (Velocity → CRM/TMS)

Best when Velocity is the origin for:

• Quotes and quote updates
• Approved/normalized rates to downstream systems
• Booking-ready payloads for TMS creation
• Milestone visibility signals to CRM

Pull (CRM/TMS → Velocity)

Best when another system is the origin for:

• Master customer profiles (IDs, account codes)
• Contract rates already maintained in the TMS
• Booking status truth for milestone updates

Bi-Directional (Both ways)

Best for:

• Customer profiles and contacts (when changes can happen in multiple systems)
• Documents (upload anywhere, view everywhere)
• Operational instructions (if updates are shared across tools)

Best practice: Decide direction per object, not “one direction for everything.”

Common Integration Patterns

Below are proven patterns used by freight forwarders and logistics teams.

Pattern A: Quote in Velocity → Opportunity in CRM → Booking in TMS

1. Lead/request captured (CRM or Velocity)
2. Quote built and sent in Velocity
3. CRM opportunity is updated (stage, value, quote status)
4. Upon acceptance, booking is created/pushed to TMS
5. TMS milestones sync back for visibility and customer updates

Best for: Sales-led orgs that forecast in CRM and execute in TMS.

Pattern B: Customer in CRM → Quote in Velocity → Booking stays in TMS

1. CRM is system of record for customer and deal ownership
2. Velocity pulls customer IDs and key fields from CRM
3. Velocity creates quote and stores acceptance
4. TMS remains authoritative for booking and milestones

Best for: Teams that want minimal ops disruption.

Pattern C: Rates in TMS → Velocity quoting → Booking created in TMS

1. Contract rates managed in TMS
2. Velocity pulls rates (or a subset) to power quoting
3. Accepted quote triggers booking creation in TMS
4. Documents and milestone updates sync as needed

Best for: Pricing organizations that already govern rates centrally in TMS.

Data Prerequisites (IDs, Naming, Customer Matching Rules)

Most integration failures stem from identity and mapping gaps. Confirm these items before implementation.

1) Unique identifiers (non-negotiable)

• Customer ID / account code that is stable over time
• Quote ID and Booking/Shipment reference keys
• Consistent lane identifiers (port/airport codes, city IDs, zones)

2) Customer matching rules (recommended hierarchy)

1. External Customer ID (best)
2. Company domain (good)
3. Normalized company name + country/region (fallback)
4. Contact email (supporting identity)

3) Naming conventions (reduce duplicates)

• Account naming standards (legal name vs brand name)
• Deal naming (lane • mode • customer • time period)
• Quote naming/numbering (prefix + sequence + year)

4) Field mapping decisions

• Required vs optional fields per object
• Controlled vocabularies (mode, service level, status codes)
• Units and currency handling (kg vs lb, cbm, USD/EUR, etc.)

Security & Access Basics (Credentials, Scopes)

Integrations should be implemented with least-privilege access and clear environment separation.

Standard requirements

• Admin credentials or API keys for each system
• Defined scopes (read-only vs read/write) per object group
• Separate test/sandbox and production environments where possible
• Audit logs and change tracking for critical actions (rates, bookings, customer identity)

Operational safeguards

• Retry and error handling (timeouts, partial payloads)
• Monitoring and alerts for failed sync events
• Ownership rules to prevent “system A overwrote system B”

Related Articles and Internal Links

• CRM Integration: What syncs (leads, quotes, bookings, milestones)
• TMS Integration: What syncs (rates, quotes, bookings, tracking, docs)
• Freight Rate Management: Centralizing, normalizing, and versioning rates
• Freight Quote Management: Quote workflows, approvals, and customer delivery
• Operations Tower: Visibility, milestones, and exception management