Blanket Purchase Order Approval Workflow States
The Blanket Purchase Order Approval Workflow is initiated when a blanket purchase order is created or resubmitted for editing. The transaction goes through the states depending on the result of an account or amount validation.
Entry
The blanket purchase order goes through the Entry state upon creation. The Approval Status and Next Approver fields are disabled and cannot be edited. From this state, the transaction moves to the Approval Routing Feature Check state.
Approval Routing Feature Check
Upon creation, a blanket purchase order enters the Approval Routing Feature Check from the Entry state. If it has been edited or updated, it enters from the Resubmitted state.
In the Approval Routing Feature Check state, the workflow verifies that the Approval Routing feature is enabled in the account. After this validation, the transaction moves to the Check Immediate Approver state. If the feature is not enabled, the transaction is automatically approved.
Check Immediate Approver
In the Check Immediate Approver state, the workflow verifies that the employee on the blanket purchase order has a designated supervisor or purchase approver. If there is no supervisor or purchase approver, the transaction is automatically approved.
If there is no employee on the transaction, the workflow will view the account used to submit the transaction. It will verify that the account holder has a designated supervisor or purchase approver.
For resubmitted transactions, the workflow defines the settings for the approver, approval status, and maximum amount in the Check Immediate Approver state.
Check User Purchase Limit
In the Check User Purchase Limit state, the employee’s purchase limit is compared with the maximum amount of the blanket purchase order. If the purchase limit is below the maximum amount, the transaction will be routed for approval. It moves to the Check Highest Approver state. This is also true if the employee has no purchase limit. If the maximum amount is within or equal to the employee’s purchase limit, the transaction will no longer require approval. It is transferred to the Approved state.
Check Highest Approver
In the Check Highest Approver state, the workflow compares the value of the highest approval limit with the maximum amount of the transaction. If the highest approval limit exceeds or is equal to the maximum amount, the transaction moves to the Set Next Approver state. Otherwise, it means that no approver has sufficient limit to cover the maximum amount. The workflow displays an error message to inform the user that no approver can approve the transaction. In addition, the resulting action can be either of the two:
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Newly created transactions are not saved.
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Resubmitted transactions are saved and transferred to the Rejected state.
Set Next Approver
In the Set Next Approver state, the workflow identifies the approver of the blanket purchase order. If the employee has a purchase approver, regardless if there is also supervisor, the purchase approver is assigned as approver. A supervisor is only assigned as approver if there is no designated purchase approver.
After the initial approval, transactions that require further approval will return to this state from the Check User Approval Limit state. The workflow identifies the next approver in the approval hierarchy and transfers the transaction to the Pending Approval state.
Pending Approval
Blanket purchase orders that require initial or further approval are sent to the Pending Approval state. The approval status is set to Pending Approval. The current or next approver is sent an email notification regarding the transaction for review and action. Only the approver is given access to the Approve and Reject buttons, which are enabled on the transaction. However, the current approver is not allowed to edit the blanket purchase order. Approved contracts move to the Check User Approval Limit state. Those that are not approved are transferred to the Rejected state.
The Resubmit button is also enabled in case editing or correction is required when a transaction is in Pending Approval status. Users who have access to the transaction, except the current approver, may update the record. The approval status and next approver cannot be edited. The workflow verifies that changes have been made to the employee and maximum amount. If no changes have been made, the transaction is not transferred to the Resubmitted state. If changes have been made that requires approval by a different approver, the initial approval request will be cancelled. The previous approver will be notified through email of the cancelled approval request.
Check User Approval Limit
An approved blanket purchase order is transferred to the Check User Approval Limit state to verify that it requires further approval. The workflow determines if the approval limit of the previous approver is below the maximum amount. In this case, the transaction is sent back to the Set Next Approver state. This continues until the highest approver who can cover the maximum amount has been reached. Transactions that do not require further approval are transferred to the Approved state.
Approved
Blanket purchase orders are transferred to the Approved state, due to the following conditions:
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There is no supervisor and purchase approver assigned to the employee.
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The maximum amount is less than or equal to the employee’s purchase limit.
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The transaction is approved by the initial and final supervisor or purchase approver.
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The Approval Routing feature is not enabled in the account.
In the Approved state, the employee is notified of the approval through email and the approval status is changed to Approved.
The Resubmit button is enabled on the transaction to allow editing of details, except for the approval status and next approver. When an approved transaction is resubmitted, the workflow verifies that the employee and maximum amount are changed. If no changes are identified, the transaction is not transferred to the Resubmitted state.
When a resubmitted transaction is revalidated in the Check Immediate Approver state, note the following. It may be transferred back to the Approved state if it no longer requires approval. In this case, an email is sent to the current approver to disregard the approval request.
Rejected
Blanket purchase orders that have not been approved are sent to the Rejected state. The employee is notified through email and the Approval Status is changed to Rejected.
On the transaction, the Resubmit button is enabled for editing and correction. The Approval Status and Next Approver fields are disabled for editing. The workflow determines any changes made to the maximum amount and employee. If no changes have been made, the transaction is not transferred to the Resubmitted state.
Resubmitted transactions are revalidated in the Check Highest Approver state. Transactions that do not require approval are transferred back to the Rejected state. In this case, an email is sent to the current approver to disregard the approval request.
Resubmitted
Transactions in Approved, Pending Approval, and Rejected status can still be updated and resubmitted. In the Resubmitted state, the workflow indicates that the transaction is a resubmission and identifies the user who resubmitted it. The transaction is transferred to the Approval Routing Feature Check state to restart the series of account and maximum amount validations.