Purchase Order Approvals - Case Study - RoboHen
How RoboHen streamlined purchase order approvals for a manufacturing company, reducing approval time from days to hours with clear routing rules and automated escalations.
Industry
Manufacturing & Distribution
Function
Finance / Operations
The Challenge
Purchase order approvals routinely took several days due to:
- unclear approval thresholds
- inconsistent routing rules
- manual follow-ups
- limited visibility into approval status
- frequent bottlenecks during busy periods
This caused delays in procurement and operational planning.
The Approach
RoboHen redesigned the PO workflow to create clarity and consistency.
The new workflow included:
- standardized approval thresholds
- automatic routing based on amount and category
- escalation paths for stalled approvals
- human oversight for final sign-off
- complete audit records
The workflow was deployed without replacing existing finance systems.
The Results
- Approval cycles reduced from days to hours
- Fewer stalled or forgotten approvals
- Improved spend visibility
- Reduced procurement delays
- Clear accountability at every step
Operations teams could move faster without sacrificing control.
Why It Worked
- Approval logic was explicit and enforceable
- Exceptions were handled predictably
- The workflow behaved consistently across teams
Next Steps
The approval logic was reused for:
- capital expenditure approvals
- vendor onboarding workflows
Workflow Example: → View