Knowledge base Overview: myInsight Approval Workflows

Purchasing technology often involves multiple stakeholders. Without a streamlined and automated process, communication and resources can be challenged. Archaic methods of procurement, such as tracking your company’s catalog in spreadsheets or chasing down purchase requests via email and physical signatures aren’t effective and will likely cost you more money over time. Procurement should enable and empower your business to make impactful outcomes — not hinder them.

In this blog, discover why approval workflows matter and how the intuitive Insight Intelligent Technology^™ approval workflows within the myInsight procurement platform maximize value with robust functionality.

Creating a free account on myInsight is the first step in transforming your purchasing process into an automated and optimized supply chain. Your free account can be completely customized with an approval workflow powered by configurable fail-safe protocols that prevent miscommunication, reduce errors, control spend and guarantee compliance during the purchasing process.

Creating better purchasing workflows

Purchasing workflows aren’t new, but there’s a better way to create and navigate within them. Streamlined approval workflows save time. In fact, current clients report these efficiency gains as one of the most valuable benefits our platform offers. Defining your purchasing processes within the platform is easy. We’ve created the platform with a client-first mentality that allows you to control maverick spending with appropriate controls, while simultaneously being flexible for atypical purchases.

Quick and transparent purchasing processes give your team visibility into what’s working and what could be improved. Because digital approval workflows can be easily changed with just a few clicks, refining your workflows over time increases productivity that ultimately impacts your bottom line.

With our approval capabilities, your teams can:

• Establish rules: All orders can be sent for approval or multi-tiered rules can be implemented based on job titles, currency value tiers, internal department code or cost center.
• Track approval statuses: Both approvers and requesters can monitor the process in real time. Dashboards will display orders awaiting approvals, minimizing the need for follow-up.
• Send notifications: You can set up notifications for all requisition actions or after the final decision. And approvers can automatically receive alerts about pending requests.
• Review order history: Comprehensive reports will display approval and order data, including approval response times, product details, order date, shipping information and invoice total.

Speed up the procure-to-pay cycle with approval dashboards.

Tools that provide visibility into real-time order status, approval logging and notifications of pending requisitions speed up the procure-to-pay cycle. A myInsight account gives you access to an approval and/or requestor dashboard plus an additional approval reporting engine — depending on your user role.

As an approver, your dashboard is a configurable drag-and-drop widget showing a snapshot of all pending requisitions that need review. Easily view high-level details, such as requisition number, requestor, creation date, days in queue, account and total cost for all of your web groups. Take action right within the widget to approve, deny or flag a requisition for review. Insight’s approval engine automatically scans pending requisitions for outliers and notifies you of any invalid line items. As a requestor, your dashboard shows similar details with the ability to cancel any pending requisitions in an approver’s queue.

This real-time, digital process reduces ordering and communication errors. Configure your purchasing workflow to match your current processes or let our team of experts create a new workflow customized to your exact business needs. We’ll work to ensure your migration to a procurement platform is seamless.

Permissions set at the user level simplify complexity.

No two businesses are the same. The way you use technology solutions shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach. We understand that your workflows require more than just roles, and the hierarchy of your approval process may not reflect the organizational chart inside your business. The e-procurement platform on myInsight allows you to set approval routing permissions at the user level. This ensures only authorized users can approve requisitions based on your business requirements.

The variations of rules and permissions are near limitless. Route requisitions based on total cost or within a specified cost range, send requisitions to specific approver types based on the type of items included in the shopping cart, even narrow down which users receive approval requests by cost center or any other client-defined fields. Streamline approvals and communications effectively with Insight while maintaining security and increasing transparency — no matter how complex.

Custom notifications ensure the right people are in the know.

When processes are simple, digital and automated, your team can focus more on growing your business and less on day-to-day operations. Automatic notifications provide peace of mind that all the right people are informed and up to date.

A myInsight account gives you the ability to automate and customize your notifications. For example, you can define what status changes you want to receive notifications for at the user level. You can customize the frequency of alerts to send automatic emails on all actions concerning a requisition or only the final action. Approvers with pending requisitions in the queue can be reminded to take action. Keep your workflow running smoothly while shortening your approval cycle time.

Optimize technology investments with smarter e-commerce.

Today, an organization’s ability to efficiently manage complex projects and partnerships while maintaining a secure operating environment is a top priority. Expectations of improved transparency and seamless communication have raised the bar for accountability and workflow efficiency. A robust electronic procurement system is the most effective investment an organization can make to address the challenges of doing business today, while simultaneously preparing for the potential operational hurdles of tomorrow.