Kaizen 228 - Process Large-Scale Migrated Data Using Catalyst Solutions

Kaizen 228 - Process Large-Scale Migrated Data Using Catalyst Solutions



Howdy, tech wizards!

This week’s Kaizen explores how Catalyst Solutions in the Zoho CRM Developer Hub help import large volumes of data into Zoho CRM while improving data quality and simplifying the migration process.

Why Catalyst Solutions?

Catalyst Solutions provide a library of independent, ready-to-use backend solutions called CodeLibs. The CRM Bulk Data Processor CodeLib helps handle complex data operations on large datasets. Following are the key benefits:
  1. Highly Scalable: Processes large datasets efficiently, supporting up to 200,000 records per API call.
  2. Automation Made Simple: Automate complex tasks like segmentation, data cleansing and lead scoring with minimal effort.  
  3. Effortless Integration: Comes with pre-configured Catalyst resources such as serverless functions and data stores that integrate directly with Zoho CRM.

Business Scenario

Zylker, a manufacturing company, migrated over 3 lakh Lead records into Zoho CRM from spreadsheets. 



Post-migration, the Lead data showed the following inconsistencies and challenges:
  1. Phone number field did not include country codes, or contained incorrect country codes. This inconsistency made it difficult for sales teams to contact Leads reliably.
  2. Identifying potential Leads for follow-up required manual effort and marketing team has to run generic campaigns without lead segmentation. 
Using workflows before record creation to fix phone numbers for this volume would result in 3 lakh individual workflow executions, which can slow imports and cause partial failures.

Solution Overview

Zylker can use the CRM Bulk Data Processor available in Catalyst Solutions to address these challenges at scale.

The solution works as follows:
  1. Lead records are fetched in bulk from Zoho CRM using the Bulk Read API.
  2. The fetched data is temporarily stored to evaluate the priority and quality of each record. Based on this evaluation, the records are also segmented accordingly.
  3. The Country field value is used to identify and append the correct country code to the phone number.
  4. The processed records are updated back into Zoho CRM using Bulk Write API.
All operations are executed using pre-configured Catalyst resources provided by the CodeLib. You can explore the Bulk Data Flow in Catalyst help page to understand how each resource participates in the processing pipeline.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure the following:

1. Log into your Zoho CRM and navigate to Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields > Leads.

Create the following custom Single Line fields to map existing record data in Zoho CRM. 
  1. Last Activity Days
  2. Web Engagement Score
Refer to the Working with Custom Fields help page for detailed guide. 


2. Create the following custom Single Line fields to store the calculated values during bulk processing:
  1. Lead Score Value
  2. Lead Segment
  3. Sales Priority
  4. Data Quality Status
3. Go to Setup > Developer Hub > Catalyst Solutions > Zoho CRM Bulk Data Processor

4. Click Go to Catalyst and create a Catalyst account if required.



5. Refer to the Catalyst CLI Installation Guide and install it on your local system.

6. Create a new folder on your local system, which will act as a local project directory. Use the following command:

mkdir -p <folder_name>


7. Navigate to the project folder in your terminal and execute the following command: 

catalyst init

8. Follow the prompts to select and initialize your desired project from the Catalyst console. 

When prompted to choose a feature, press Enter and proceed without choosing any feature.


9. Run the following command to install the CRM Bulk Data Processor CodeLib.



Step 1: Create a Cron Job

1. Open the Catalyst Console and navigate to the same project in which you have installed the CRM Bulk Data Processor CodeLib.

2. Go to Cloud Scale > Triggers > Cron and click Create Cron.

3. Fill in the following details:
  1. Provide a Name and Description for the cron job. 
  2. Select Function and choose BulkJobScheduler from the dropdown in the Target Function field.
  3. Enter the following parameters and values:

    MODULES -> Leads
    FIELDS_TO_BE_PROCESSED -> Last_Name, Company, Mobile, Country, Designation, No_of_Employees, Web_Engagement_Score, Lead_Score_Value, Lead_Segment, Sales_Priority, Data_Quality_Status

    Use GET Modules Metadata API and GET Fields Metadata API to get the API names of the required module and fields.
     
  4. Choose the Schedule Type as One Time for our use case.
Refer to the Implementing Cron Jobs Help Guide for more details.

Step 2: Configure Zoho CRM API Credentials 

1. Create a self-client application in Zoho's API Console.

2. Generate a Grant Token with the following scopes:
  1. ZohoFiles.files.ALL
  2. ZohoCRM.bulk.ALL
  3. ZohoCRM.modules.ALL
  4. ZohoCRM.settings.ALL
  5. ZohoCRM.org.ALL


3. Follow the OAuth Help Section for a step-by-step guide to generate Access and Refresh tokens for your Zoho CRM organization.


Store all the API credentials securely for later use.

4. To allow Catalyst to access Zoho CRM data, configure the stored API credentials as environment variables in the catalyst-config.json file within the BulkDataProcessor function.

For detailed guidance, refer to the Configure Function Components help guide in CRM Bulk Data Processor. 



Notes
These environment variables are used by Catalyst Connectors to create access tokens for establishing secure connection between Zoho CRM and Catalyst.

Step 3: Add Business Logic

1. Go to com.processor.record.ZCRMRecordsProcessorImpl.java file of the BulkDataProcessor in the functions directory.

2. Override the ZCRMRecordsProcessor method with the business logic.


The complete code sample for this use case is available on GitHub for reference.

Following is the major custom logic used here:

Notes
Use the GET Fields Metadata API to fetch the API names of the fields required throughout the custom logic.

Phone Number Normalization:

This can be implemented in two stages, Country standardization and Phone Number formatting

For country standardization, CountryStandardizerUtil maps different variations of the Country field in records to a single standardized country identifier. These variations may include, 
  1. Country Names (India, Unites States, United Kingdom)
  2. Abbreviations (Ind, IN, USA, US, UK)
  3. Calling Codes (+91, +1, +44)
With this, we can ensure different interpretations of the same country are interpreted consistently during the process. 


Once the country is standardized, Phone Numbers are formatted to E.164 format in the PhoneNormalizerUtil

It removes all non-numeric characters and converts the Phone input to E.164 format with the respective country codes. 

public class PhoneNormalizerUtil {
    private static final Pattern NON_DIGIT = Pattern.compile("[^0-9]");
    public static Optional<String> normalizeToE164(String rawPhone, String countryCode) {
        if (rawPhone == null || rawPhone.trim().isEmpty()) {
            return Optional.empty();
        }
        String digits = NON_DIGIT.matcher(rawPhone).replaceAll("");
        if (rawPhone.startsWith("+") && digits.length() >= 10) {
            return Optional.of("+" + digits);
        }
        switch (countryCode) {
            case "IN":
                return normalizeIndia(digits);
            case "US":
                return normalizeUS(digits);
            case "UK":
                return normalizeUK(digits);
            default:
                return Optional.empty();
        }
    }
    private static Optional<String> normalizeIndia(String digits) {
        if (digits.length() == 10) {
            return Optional.of("+91" + digits);
        }
        if (digits.startsWith("91") && digits.length() == 12) {
            return Optional.of("+" + digits);
        }
        return Optional.empty();
    }
    private static Optional<String> normalizeUS(String digits) {
        if (digits.length() == 10) {
            return Optional.of("+1" + digits);
        }
        if (digits.startsWith("1") && digits.length() == 11) {
            return Optional.of("+" + digits);
        }
        return Optional.empty();
    }
    private static Optional<String> normalizeUK(String digits) {
        if (digits.startsWith("44") && digits.length() == 12) {
            return Optional.of("+" + digits);
        }
        if (digits.length() == 10) {
            return Optional.of("+44" + digits);
        }
        return Optional.empty();
    }

}

Lead Priority and Segmentation

The lead priority is calculated using the Title, No of employees, Last Activity Days and Web Engagement Score fields in the record.  

Each field value contributes a predefined number of points:
  1. If the job title indicates a senior role such as CEO, CTO, Director, or VP, 25 points are added.
  2. If the company size is 200 employees or more, 20 points are added.
  3. If the Lead has been active within the last 7 days, 15 points are added.
  4. If the web engagement score is 70 or higher, 10 points are added.
The sum of all applicable factors is returned as an integer and based on this score the lead's priority and segmentation is assigned as follows:
  1. High (Hot): score ≥ 70
  2. Medium (Warm): score ≥ 40
  3. Low (Cold): score < 40
public static int calculateLeadScore(
            String jobTitle,
            Integer companySize,
            Integer lastActivityDays,
            Integer webEngagementScore) {
        int score = 0;
        // Decision Maker
        if (jobTitle != null) {
            String title = jobTitle.toLowerCase();
            if (title.contains("ceo") || title.contains("cto")
                    || title.contains("director") || title.contains("vp")) {
                score += 25;
            }
        }
        // Company Size
        if (companySize != null && companySize >= 200) {
            score += 20;
        }
        // Recency
        if (lastActivityDays != null && lastActivityDays <= 7) {
            score += 15;
        }
        // Engagement
        if (webEngagementScore != null && webEngagementScore >= 70) {
            score += 10;
        }
        return score;
    }
    public static String deriveSegment(int score) {
        if (score >= 70) return "Hot";
        if (score >= 40) return "Warm";
        return "Cold";
    }
    public static String derivePriority(String segment) {
        switch (segment) {
            case "Hot":
                return "High";
            case "Warm":
                return "Medium";
            default:
                return "Low";
        }
    }

Lead Quality:

Lead quality is evaluated based on the validity of the Mobile and Country fields in the records.
  1. Clean: Both field values are valid.
  2. Critical: Both field values are invalid.
  3. Needs Review: Only one of the field values is invalid.

Write Back to Records:

The processed data is written back to Zoho CRM as follows:
  1. Mobile: Formatted phone numbers.
  2. Lead Score: Total score calculated from all applicable fields.
  3. Lead Segment: Segment derived from the lead score.
  4. Sales Priority: Priority assigned based on the lead segment.
  5. Data Quality Status: Overall quality of the Lead record.
if (normalizedMobile.isPresent()) {
data.put("Mobile", normalizedMobile.get());
}
data.put("Lead_Score", leadScore);
data.put("Lead_Segment", leadSegment);
data.put("Sales_Priority", salesPriority);
data.put("Data_Quality_Status", dataQualityStatus);
}

Step 4: Deploy to Development

Run the following command to deploy your local customizations to the Development Environment of Catalyst.

catalyst deploy

Info
You can find the complete code sample on GitHub for reference.

Try it Out!

With the changes deployed to the Development environment, let us now test the solution.



We hope this Kaizen helps you import large volumes of data into Zoho CRM while improving data quality and lead intelligence using the CRM Bulk Data Processor.

Have questions or suggestions? Drop them in the comments or write to us at  support@zohocrm.com

We will circle back to you next Friday with another interesting topic. 

On to Better Building!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Idea
Previous Kaizen: Client Script Support for List Page (Canvas) | Kaizen Collection: Directory

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    • Sticky Posts

    • Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

      Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.
    • Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script

      Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In this
    • Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List

      Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore how
    • Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks

      Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.
    • Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications

      Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes are
    • Recent Topics

    • Company Multiple Branch/ Location Accounting

      Hi All, anyone know whether company can maintain their multiple Branch Accounting in Zoho  Books. It will be chart of Accounts & Master Data will be same but different report available as per per Branch. Thanks & regards, Vivek +91 9766906737
    • Zoho Books Invoices Templates

      It would be really helpful to have more advanced features to customise the invoice templates in Zoho Books. Especially I´m thinking of the spacing of the different parts of the invoice (Address line etc.). If you have a sender and receiver address in
    • Email Administrators! Join our tips & troubleshooting series

      Greetings to all the admins out there! This announcement is exclusively for you. As we step into the New Year, we’re excited to start a dedicated series of admin-specific tips curated to support you. These posts will help you overcome everyday challenges
    • Deprecation of the Zoho OAuth connector

      Hello everyone, At Zoho, we continuously evaluate our integrations to ensure they meet the highest standards of security, reliability, and compliance. As part of these ongoing efforts, we've made the decision to deprecate the Zoho OAuth default connector
    • Free Webinar : Unlock AI driven business insights with Zoho Inventory + Zoho Analytics

      Are you tired of switching between apps and exporting data to build customized reports? Say hello to smarter & streamlined insights! Join us for this exclusive webinar where we explore the power of the Zoho Inventory–Zoho Analytics integration. Learn
    • Import Function: ONLY update empty fields

      When setting up an import from a spreadsheet to CRM, there is a checkbox "Don't update empty values for existing contacts" (see screenshot below). While I see some limited benefit from this functionality, I think there should also be an "ONLY update empty
    • Begin the year with best practices in the Zoho Desk mobile app : Part 2

      In focus: Optimizing collaboration and supervision Let's begin 2026 with Part 2 of our tips series on driving your ticketing operations at your fingertips. In Part 1, we explored streamlining operations within tickets. This helped individuals at Omniserve
    • How to update "Lead Status" to more than 100 records

      Hello Zoho CRM, How do I update "Lead Status" to more than 100 records at once? To give you a background, these leads were uploaded or Imported at once but the lead status record was incorrectly chosen. So since there was a way to quickly add records in the system no matter how many they are, we are also wondering if there is a quicker way to update these records to the correct "Lead Status". I hope our concern makes sense and that there will be a fix for it. All the best, Jonathan
    • JWT Token authentication problem that sometimes generates infinite redirect loops

      Description : Nous proposons un bouton sur notre plateforme permettant de rediriger l'utilisateur vers le portail ZohoDesk via un jeton JWT pour une authentification transparente. Cependant, il arrive que certains utilisateurs soient pris dans une boucle
    • ZOHO Work Drive Back Up

      I am looking for a ZOHO Work Drive backup solution. Something that is cloud based. There's lots of these kinds of options for Google Drive and other providers, but I have not seen anything for WorkDrive. Any suggestions?
    • ZOHO Reports - Filter Logic?

      Hi, I need a way to apply filter logics such as ((1 AND 2) OR 3). All I can see as of now is a way to enter different AND filters in the respective filter column. But how can I add an OR filter? Any advice would be highly appreciated. Mark
    • Scanned Doc - selecting Item overwrites Rate

      I have a Vendor Invoice which was uploaded to Documents. I select Add To > New Bill. The OCR is actually quite good, but it is reading an Item Description instead of an Item Number. I remove the description and select the correct Item Number... and it
    • Recruit API search

      Hi all, Attempting to call the search api endpoint from Postman using the word element as mentioned in api docs Search Records - APIs | Online Help - Zoho Recruit When making the call to /v2/Candidates/search?word=Saudi receive response of { "code": "MANDATORY_NOT_FOUND",
    • Saving reading position + Keep screen on

      While Zoho Notebook is excellent for saving and annotating articles, its utility is severely limited by the lack of reading progress synchronization. On the Android app, if a user exits a long note after reading 50%, the app fails to save the position.
    • Multiple Vendor SKUs

      One of the big concerns we have with ZOHO Inventory is lack of Vendor Skus like many other inventory software packages offer. Being able to have multiple vendor skus for the same product would be HUGE! It would populate the appropriate vendor Sku for
    • Zoho LandingPage is integrated with Zoho One!

      Greetings to the Zoho One users out there! We're delighted to let you know that Zoho LandingPage is available in Zoho One too! With Zoho LandingPage, you can host custom-made landing pages, and persuade the visitors to dive deeper by making further clicks,
    • Android app sync problem - multiple devices have same problem

      Hello, I am having a problem with synchronization in the Android app. When I create a drawing, the data does not sync correctly—only a blank note is created without the drawing. I tested this on multiple devices, including phones and tablets, and the
    • How can i resend a campaign to only one of the recipients on the original campaign

      How can i resend a campaign to only one of the recipients on the original campaign ? Sincererly, Mike
    • How to show branch instead of org name on invoice template?

      Not sure why invoices are showing the org name not the branch name? I can insert the branch name using the ${ORGANIZATION.BRANCHNAME} placeholder, but then it isn't bold text anymore. Any other ideas?
    • Marketing Automation Requirements Questions

      I would like to set up a multi-email drip campaign- please see the structure below and confirm if I can achieve this set up in Zoho marketing automation. Where applicable, highlight gaps and workarounds. Thanks Drip email campaign- Can I create one drip
    • Question about using custom_fields in Storefront Add-to-Cart API (error 2003 – required details)

      Hi everyone, I’m working with the Zoho Commerce Storefront API, specifically the Add to Cart endpoint: POST /storefront/api/v1/cart According to the documentation, this endpoint supports a custom_fields parameter for adding line-item custom data. I’m
    • Can a project be cloned?

      Good afternoon, greetings. I would like to ask if it's possible to clone a project in Microsoft Project. I found a way to do it using templates, but I'm not sure if there's a direct way to clone a project. Thank you in advance for your attention, and
    • Timesheet Tasks in Zoho Books: associate to service item

      How do we associate a service item to timesheet tasks in Zoho Books? For example: Joe spent 5 hours on project:task1 which is Service Item#1 (Income:Service1). When the invoice is issued thru the Project Invoice section, this is not available. When the
    • Task/Activity indicator in SalesPipeline overview has disappeared

      I Just logged in my ZOHO CRM first 2026 checking my salespipeline overview , Every record card used to show an indication that there was an open task (Yellow if the expiry date was close, red if the expiry date was today and grey when it had expired).
    • Tip #56- Accessibility Controls in Zoho Assist: Hearing- 'Insider Insights'

      As we begin the new year, it’s a great time to focus on making our tools more inclusive and accessible for everyone. Remote support often involves long hours in front of screens, varying lighting conditions, and users with diverse accessibility needs.
    • Zoho Desk Android app update: Table view for All Departments view, custom button

      Hello everyone! In the latest version(v2.9.25) of the Zoho Desk Android app update, we have introduced Table view for the 'All Departments' view in the ticket module. We also have supported an option that allows tickets in the Table view to be sorted
    • What's New - December 2025 | Zoho Backstage

      In December, Backstage introduced a focused set of updates that improve how you manage registrations, communicate with attendees, and track participation. These enhancements are designed to give organizers greater flexibility and clearer control across
    • Add multiple users to a task

      When I´m assigning a task it is almost always related to more than one person. Practical situation: When a client request some improvement the related department opens the task with the situation and people related to it as the client itself, the salesman
    • A Roundup of Zoho Sprints 2025

    • Sorting Custom Date in API isn't working w pagination limit

      How can we sort a custom field with DATE using pagination? Starting at page=1 then moving to page=2 with a limit of 10 each, its all messed up and even shows some of the same records as page 1? https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v2/INVOICE_MODULE/search?criteria=(FM_Contact_ID:equals:1234)&sort_by=Invoice_Date&sort_order=desc&per_page=10&page='
    • SAP Business One(B1) integration is now live in Zoho Flow

      We’re excited to share that SAP Business One (B1) is now available in Zoho Flow! This means you can now build workflows that connect SAP B1 with other apps and automate routine processes without relying on custom code. Note: SAP Business One integration
    • Enhancement in Role and Profile mapping of agents in Sandbox

      Hello everyone! We have brought in a modification in the way users are mapped to a particular role and profile in Sandbox. What has changed? When agents are copied from production to Sandbox: If a user's current role and profile is available in Sandbox,
    • The reason I switched away from Zoho Notebook

      My main reason for switching to Zoho was driven by three core principles: moving away from US-based products, keeping my data within India as much as possible, and supporting Indian companies. With that intent, I’ve been actively de-Googling my digital
    • Decimal places settings for exchange rates

      Hello, We are facing issues while matching vendor payments with banking feeds. As we often import products/services exchange rate comes into play. Currently, ZOHO allows only six digits for decimal places. We feel that conversions like JPY to INR require
    • Zoho removed ability to see all Scheduled Reports!

      If you are not the owner of a scheduled report, Zoho recently removed the capability to see each scheduled report. As an admin who relies on seeing all scheduled reports being sent, this is a terrible update. Now I cannot see ANY scheduled reports...even the ones I am being sent!!  This should be a setting for admins to control.  This is a bad update.
    • Automate Backups

      This is a feature request. Consider adding an auto backup feature. Where when you turn it on, it will auto backup on the 15-day schedule. For additional consideration, allow for the export of module data via API calls. Thank you for your consideration.
    • GCLID and Zoho Bookings

      Is there anyway to embed a Zoho Bookings signup on a landing page and pass the GCLID information? More specifically, can this be done using auto-tagging and not manual tagging the GCLID? I know Zappier has an integration to do this but is there a better
    • Merge Items

      Is there a work around for merging items? We currently have three names for one item, all have had a transaction associated so there is no deleting (just deactivating, which doesn't really help. It still appears so people are continuing to use it). I also can't assign inventory tracking to items used in past transactions, which I don't understand, this is an important feature moving forward.. It would be nice to merge into one item and be able to track inventory. Let me know if this is possible.
    • Create PO from an invoice

      We are a hardware and software sales company which receives orders over the internet. We drop ship most of our products from a warehouse outside of our company. Our orders get sync'd into Zoho from our store via onesaas as invoices. It would be great
    • Blueprint or Validation Rules for Invoices in Zoho Books

      Can I implement Blueprint or Validation Rules for Invoices in Zoho Books? Example, use case could be, Agent confirms from client that payment is done, but bank only syncs transactions tomorrow. in this case, Agent can update invoice status to done, and
    • Next Page