iApprove an Approval Workflow Solution

Does your organization have procedures for creating, reviewing, and approving/rejecting requests such as Purchase Order Requisitions, reviewing Sales Quotes, Vacation requests, Expense requests, IT Change Orders, …..and the list goes on!

The answer is, of course! All organizations have these types of procedures and requests. Some organizations have more formal procedures than others. Some may have paper forms associated with these procedures. Some may even have these procedures outlined in a company operations manual.

Now that we have agreed that all organizations have these requests and procedures, the next set of questions would be, how well does your organization process these requests? Are the requests processed timely? Is it possible for the person who created the request to track the status of a request? Do requests sometimes get lost in a ‘black hole’ because one of the people who need to review and approve the request is out of the office? Can a request be easily retracted by the originator of a request, changed, and then re-submitted for review and approval? Do the request review attempts get documented for auditability and analytical purposes?

These are just some of the questions an organization should be asking as part of a Business Process Improvement program.

ISS Group® has worked with many organizations in the QAD EA® community over the past fifteen years to assist in streamlining these types of business processes. As a result of many years of experience, ISS Group® developed a web-based, shrink-wrapped solution named iApprove™ to electronically facilitate the creation, workflow, review and approval of organizational Requests.

The result?

Significantly reduced request turnaround time. For requests such as reviewing Sales Quotes, this results in shortened Quote to Order cycles, and subsequently Quote to Cash cycles! For Purchase Order Requisitions, these result in shortened procurement cycles which ultimately result in more efficient office and plant operations.

Improved Financial Control. For any type of request which requires multiple people to review and approve the request before money can be spent, having a tool which forces the request to be routed to the appropriate people, reviewed and approved, has resulted in the elimination of ‘maverick spend’.

Increased resource productivity. For requests such as reviewing and accepting new Supplier Catalogs, Buyers spend less time on the administration of collecting and reviewing a catalog, which allows them more time to invest in negotiating with Suppliers ultimately resulting in lower material costs.

Improved process auditability. For all types of requests, the ability to analyze who is making the requests, the time it takes for different types of requests to complete from inception, who is holding up the requests, and being able to identify who may have approved/rejected a request, has proven to be extremely valuable information to upper management and the folks responsible for improving business processes throughout an organization.