Approval Process w/ multiple approvers

[KristenBalla]

We have a new customer that wants their users to place an order and then be able to choose who the approver will be (a pretty lengthy list).

 

I know the old 5.5 stores could do something like that….and 6.0 does not have that capability that I'm aware of.

 

Has anyone found a work around for this? Or found another way to achieve an approval process with multiple approvers?

 

 

Let me know your thoughts. thanks!

[-Lisa-]

I'd love to know the answer to this too....

[David Miller]

Is there one set of approvers or multiple sets of approvers?

[KristenBalla]

Hi David,

 

What exactly do you mean by "sets"? They just want the user to pick from a list of different approvers.

[David Miller]

Different Groups can have different approvers assigned to them. If all users pick from the same list of approvers, I have an idea that might work for you.

[KristenBalla]

Yeah…I understand the different groups and different users…I tried to suggest that. But from the sounds of it, there are too many to pick from, and any user could pick any approver! I would LOVE to hear your idea!

[David Miller]

At the time of this post, I do not believe that MarcomCentral has a mechanism in place to allow Requisition Users to select an Approver during the checkout process. But, MarcomCentral is highly customizable. It might be possible to do this a couple of different ways, with a few limitations and considerations. So, please read the entire post.

 

First, please, consider contacting your BRM. PTI has some of the best engineers and product developers around. You can request custom engineering!

 

Possible Solution(s):

 

1.) Customize Email notifications. Set the "Customize Requisition Created (Approver Notification)" fields to something unique to your store.

 

2.) MarcomCentral has two Custom Order Fields available.

A.) Activate one of them.

B.) Provide a name for the Form Prompt (Example: Requested Approver).

C.) Change the Field Type to Text Drop-Down.

D.) Set the Location in Store to either Billing or Shipping. Not Add to Cart.

E.) Set the Custom Order Field to Required. (This is highly suggested.)

F.) Populate the Drop-Down values with Approvers as needed.

 

Considerations (Step 2):

A.) All users will see this list. It doesn't matter if they are Requisitioners, Purchasers or Senior Purchasers. If you make this field required, add a "way out" for Purchasers and Senior Purchasers. (Example: I am an Approver - No Approval Required)

B.) The Custom Order Field CANNOT be skipped. Make sure Skip Shipping and/or Skip Billing in all Groups is set properly.

 

After that, you will need to implement either Step 3 or Step 4. (Not both.)

 

Step 3:

 

3a.) Set the Store's "Default Req. Approval Email" and/or each Group's "Req Approver Email" and "Sr. Purchaser Email".

 

Please Note:

You may not enter more than one email in these fields. You will need to create a distribution email address if more than one email address is required. (I.E.: Create a distribution email that sends a copy of the email to all approvers in your pull-down list.)

 

3b.) Train all client approvers to read and respond to the "Customize Requisition Created (Approver Notification)" email accordingly. (This will be difficult.)

 

Step 4:

 

4.) Set the Store's "Default Req. Approval Email" and/or each Group's "Req Approver Email" and "Sr. Purchaser Email" to a single, unique, email address on your system's domain. (Example: requisitions_mystore@mycompany.com)

 

A.) Create

a rule

for each Approver

in your system's Email Server or Email Client

and direct the incoming notification email. (This is an automation rule. It will vary depending on your email server/client.)

B.) Name the rule.

C.) Specify the incoming email address. (From: Is:

theIncomingEmail@myCompany.com

)

D.) Specify the Subject. (Subject: Is: myEmailSubject)

E.) Specify the Message Body. (Message Body: Contains: myCustomFieldName: plusMyFieldValue)

F.) Specify the Forward To email address. (Do the Following: Forward To: theMessageBodyContainsValue)

 

 

Considerations:

 

1.) All approvers in your email list must be Purchasers or Senior Purchasers.

2.) All email redirect rules must include a Senior Purchaser if a Requisition Only Product is available/capable of being checked-out. So, you probably need to include the selected approver plus a default Senior Purchaser in the email rule.

3.) All users will have access to the same approver pull-down list. Regardless of user roles. Purchasers or Senior Purchasers must have an option to proceed through the Custom Field in the Shopping Cart.

4.) Skip Shipping and/or Skip Billing cannot be enabled.

 

I might have missed something. This obviously has limitations.

Edited January 15, 2015 by David Miller