Rule Based Approval Matrix Introduction

Introduction

Available “order approval” approaches in TM Master  

After the quotation process an order should have a total order value, this order value will need to be approved prior to sending it to the supplier. TM Master has three available approaches to approving orders. One of them, the “Approval Level based” is made more or less obsolete by the recently added Rule-based approval function.

1. Standard Approval  

Users are assigned a user right to approve an order. If a user has the “ApproveAtOffice” user right the user can approve any order, regardless of value or any other details on the order. This is a simple way of approving orders, that may work for small companies, but will most likely be too basic for larger companies  

1. Approval Level based 

Approval level based approval will, by using value levels, differentiate between who will be allowed to approve the order. Each value level can be linked to one or more user groups. Any users within that user group will be allowed to approve an order with a value within the assigned value level. Only when the top value level of the order is approved, will the order technically be approved. However each sub level may also be approved, as in a chain of approvals. Who will approve each level is done by a manual selection among users with the appropriate user rights, by the purchaser. A manual action is required to notify each level’s approver.

This function is made more or less obsolete by the “rule-based” approval matrix. The “rule-based approval” will be able to provide the same functionality, but will also remove the manual actions required for each level

1. Rule-based approval

Rule-based approval, will also use approval value levels, but will automatically select who will approve each level using a set of configured rules. The conditions of the rules can be the order’s originating vessel, Order type, Order WBS, account and/or cost code. As with the “approval Level based” approval, only when the top value level of the order is approved, will the order technically be approved. However each sub level may also be approved, as in a chain of approvals. With the rule-based approval, the purchaser will initiate the approval process, by sending a “request for approval” to the user selected for the lowest level , and TM Master will notify each user in turn working its way up to the top approval level.