Sales & CRM Software is used to manage prospecting, quoting, account activity, and commercial handoffs. For retailers and ecommerce, this can be a specialized need rather than a core daily workflow. The work may instead belong to a customer, partner, or another team. Compare the listed details with your needs and confirm current capabilities with providers.
Salesforce CRM, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales, Zendesk Sell are three product options to compare for Retailers and eCommerce in Sales & CRM Software. Review their listed details below. A detail that is not listed may still be available, so ask providers about your requirements.
Salesforce CRM
The #1 CRM platform with 20.7% market share and 150K+ customers worldwide. Profile fit: Enterprise brokers requiring customization; Profile fit: Large 3PLs with complex sales processes; Profiled strength: 20.7% CRM market share—#1 for 12 consecutive years (IDC); Profiled strength: 150,000+ customers with 90% of Fortune 500.
Details to compare
- feature: Sales Cloud - Complete sales automation platform
- feature: Einstein AI - Predictive insights and automation
- integration: MuleSoft
- integration: Tableau
View full product profileMicrosoft Dynamics 365 Sales
Enterprise CRM deeply integrated with Microsoft 365 and Teams ecosystem. Profile fit: Enterprise 3PLs using Microsoft ecosystem; Profile fit: Large shippers requiring enterprise security; Profiled strength: Seamless Microsoft 365, Teams, and LinkedIn integration; Profiled strength: Copilot AI for sales insights and email composition.
Details to compare
- feature: Sales Insights - AI-powered sales intelligence
- feature: LinkedIn Integration - Native Sales Navigator connection
- integration: Microsoft 365
- integration: LinkedIn
View full product profileZendesk Sell
Modern sales CRM from Zendesk with native Support integration for unified view. Profile fit: Inside sales teams using Zendesk Support; Profile fit: SMB brokers needing sales-service alignment; Profiled strength: Native integration with Zendesk Support; Profiled strength: Unified view of sales and service interactions.
Details to compare
- feature: Sales Pipeline - Visual deal tracking
- feature: Smart Lists - Dynamic lead segmentation
- integration: Zendesk Support
- integration: Mailchimp
View full product profile| Listed field | Salesforce CRM | Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales | Zendesk Sell |
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| Features | Sales Cloud - Complete sales automation platform, Einstein AI - Predictive insights and automation, Lightning Platform - Custom app development, AppExchange - Thousands of integrations, Revenue Intelligence - AI-powered forecasting, Mobile CRM - Salesforce anywhere on any device | Sales Insights - AI-powered sales intelligence, LinkedIn Integration - Native Sales Navigator connection, Copilot AI - Generative AI sales assistant, Power Platform - Custom app development, Teams Integration - Collaboration in context, Azure Cloud - Enterprise-grade security and scale | Sales Pipeline - Visual deal tracking, Smart Lists - Dynamic lead segmentation, Email Integration - Sync and track all emails, Built-in Calling - Native VoIP with logging, Sales Engagement - Automated outreach sequences, Mobile App - Sell on the go |
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| Integrations | Slack, MuleSoft, Tableau, DocuSign, Marketo, Snowflake, AWS | Microsoft 365, LinkedIn, Teams, Power BI, Azure, Outlook | Zendesk Support, Slack, Mailchimp, Gmail, Outlook, Zapier |
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| Subcategories | Not listed—confirm with the vendor | Not listed—confirm with the vendor | Not listed—confirm with the vendor |
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| Buyer-fit details | Enterprise brokers requiring customization, Large 3PLs with complex sales processes, Shippers needing extensive integration ecosystem | Enterprise 3PLs using Microsoft ecosystem, Large shippers requiring enterprise security, Organizations with complex sales processes | Inside sales teams using Zendesk Support, SMB brokers needing sales-service alignment, Retailers with integrated sales and support |
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| Target company sizes | mid-market, enterprise | mid-market, enterprise | smb, mid-market |
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Not seeing a capability here? Ask the provider whether it is available for your needs.
For retailers and ecommerce, this category may support an adjacent or specialized need rather than a core daily workflow. Its usefulness depends on the work involved and whether it complements an existing system.
Sales & CRM Software for retailer ecommerce buying guidance
At a glance: A sales CRM records and organizes prospect, account, contact, interaction, and opportunity workflows so commercial teams can coordinate follow-up and customer relationships. Logistics-specific suitability depends on required freight, quote, shipment, support, and system-of-record integrations; general CRM capability does not verify those functions. What is CRM?; Dynamics 365 Sales documentation
Common workflows
- Qualify and assign commercial leads: Capture lead origin, account context, qualification fields, ownership, follow-up, and conversion history; map the CRM stages to the buyer's actual sales process. Dynamics 365 Sales documentation
- Manage account and opportunity activity: Associate calls, meetings, notes, stakeholders, expected value, and next actions with the right company and opportunity; control duplicate and reassignment workflows. What is CRM?; Dynamics 365 Sales documentation
- Handoff a won opportunity to operations: Transfer approved customer, lane, service, pricing, and contact details to quoting, onboarding, TMS, or service teams with explicit acceptance and change ownership. Dynamics 365 Sales documentation
Questions to ask providers
- Can the CRM represent our shipper, carrier, broker, 3PL, agent, location, and relationship hierarchy without duplicate accounts?
- How do leads convert to accounts, contacts, opportunities, quotes, and operational onboarding?
- Which email, phone, marketing, TMS, pricing, service, and data warehouse connections are in scope?
- How are access, consent, retention, merge, export, and audit controls configured?
- Can managers inspect stage definitions, required fields, forecast assumptions, and changes over time?
- Which AI and automation functions are active, optional, or plan-dependent and how can they be controlled?
Frequently asked questions
What is a sales CRM?
CRM software organizes customer and prospect relationships and can support contact, sales, productivity, and interaction workflows. Salesforce describes managing current and potential customer interactions; the scope of products varies. What is CRM?
How can CRM support a freight broker?
A CRM can organize prospect and account activity, sales opportunities, and follow-up. Freight rating, tendering, dispatch, and settlement should be confirmed in a separate demonstrated workflow. What is CRM?; Dynamics 365 Sales documentation
Is CRM a TMS?
No. CRM centers on prospect and customer relationships; a TMS typically handles transport execution workflows. Some systems integrate, so define records and handoffs explicitly. What is CRM?; Dynamics 365 Sales documentation
What CRM stages should logistics teams configure?
Use stages that reflect the organization's sales and onboarding process, with clear exit criteria, ownership, and evidence. Microsoft's sales documentation covers leads and opportunities as process objects. Dynamics 365 Sales documentation
Can CRM track quotes and customer service?
Some CRM products include quote, order, service, or related capabilities, but specific editions and integrations vary. Demonstrate the buyer's quote-to-operations and issue-to-resolution handoffs. What is CRM?; Dynamics 365 Sales documentation
How should a buyer compare logistics CRM platforms?
Test account hierarchy, lead qualification, opportunity process, freight-specific fields, integration, permissioning, reporting, and the won-deal handoff using a real sales scenario. What is CRM?; Dynamics 365 Sales documentation
Sources (2)
- What is CRM? — Salesforce
- Dynamics 365 Sales documentation — Microsoft Learn