Enterprise Buyer 2.0 Desktop Edition Help

Approval Workflow

Approval Routing

Shopping Carts may be routed through the approval chain in several ways:

Serial	Approvals are sequential, following a route defined by the designated approvers, spending and approval limits specified in the various buyers' and approvers' User Profiles. This pre-defined routing can be extended by the adding of ad-hoc approvers and reviewers before or during the approval process.
Parallel	Approvals associated with different rules (i.e., workflow triggers) are routed in parallel. For example, a Shopping Cart for a commodity, and for an amount in excess of the user's spending limit, may require approval by both a commodity manager and a supervisor. Instead of requiring approval first by the commodity manager, and next by the supervisor, the parallel route enables both to occur at the same time.
Ad-Hoc Approvals	Approvals may be done by approvers who are added by users or other approvers to the pre-defined serial routing that is created by the system: Buyers can add approvers before the Shopping Cart is submitted to the workflow. Approvers can add other approvers while Shopping Carts are in their in-boxes awaiting approval, either in parallel with other approvers in the chain, or at the end of the chain before the Shopping Cart becomes an Order
Approval Escalation	Approvals that are stalled in the approval process because an approver has not addressed them may be automatically escalated to the supervisor of that approver after a certain number of days. The number of days in the period can be configured through the Enterprise Buyer 2.0 Desktop Edition Administration application. See the Enterprise Buyer 2.0 Desktop Edition Administration Guide for more information.
Reviewer	Multiple reviewers may be added on an ad hoc basis in the approval chain, either by users or approvers while the Shopping Carts are awaiting approval. Those who are included in the approval workflow as reviewers are not involved in the process as an approver.

Workflow Triggers

Workflow triggers are configured at the Buying Organization level. See the Enterprise Buyer 2.0 Desktop Edition Administration Guide for information on configuring workflow triggers. Certain conditions in a Shopping Cart cause it to be routed through workflow. The system has the following workflow triggers:

Spending Limit	Shopping Carts are routed through workflow based upon the buyer's and approver's spending limits.
Commodity	Shopping Carts for certain commodities (such as those related to technology) are routed to a commodity manager for approval. Commodity routing may be triggered by: The presence of a particular commodity in a Shopping Cart. for example a Cellular Phone, or More than maximum quantity of a particular commodity in a Shopping Cart, for example more than 2 briefcases.
Cost Center/ General Ledger Account	Shopping Carts that specify a cost center are routed to the cost center owner for approval.
Supplier	Shopping Carts for a particular supplier are routed to a supplier manager or specific user for approval.
Shopping Cart Total Dollar Amount	Shopping Carts with a value greater than a configurable amount are routed to a particular individual (i.e., project or company controller) for approval.
Special Request	All special requests are routed to a specific individual in the Buying Organization or within the Buying Organization's hierarchy.

Approval Escalation

Enterprise Buyer 2.0 Desktop Edition is capable of automatic approval escalation: Orders that are stalled in the approval process because an approver has not addressed them are escalated to the supervisor of the approver after a certain number of days. The number of days in the period can be configured through the Enterprise Buyer 2.0 Desktop Edition Administration tools.

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