Workflow Validation: 5 Steps to Streamline Your Process

Your B2B company has a workflow validation process, but it feels like wading through molasses.  Your current system is a patchwork of disconnected tools and manual processes. Approvals take forever, communication breaks down, and opportunities slip away. 

Sound like you?

Fortunately, there is a solution: A streamlined, unified commerce platform that brings every step of your workflow validation under one roof. 

This article will show you how to transform your clunky validation process into a well-oiled machine—saving time, reducing errors, and boosting your bottom line.

Short on time? Here are the key takeaways

• Workflow validation is critical for B2B businesses to ensure accuracy and compliance in complex transactions.
  
  
• Many B2B companies struggle with siloed systems and inefficient approval processes.
  
  
• Implementing a unified commerce approach can significantly streamline workflow validation.
  
  
• Automation, clear communication channels, and real-time tracking are key to improving efficiency.
  
  
• DJUST offers a comprehensive solution that integrates workflow validation with quote negotiation.

What is workflow validation?

Workflow validation is the process of systematically reviewing and approving various stages of a business transaction or operation to ensure accuracy, compliance, and adherence to company policies. 

In the B2B world, this process is particularly important due to the high stakes involved in large-scale transactions—especially of high-value or customized products. 

Benefits for the seller

Workflow validation benefits both the selling and buying parties. For the business/seller, workflow validation lets you set and enforce specific rules for purchasing. A workflow management system allows you to design a customized checkout process for your online store, streamlining the customer's experience.

For example, a shoe retailer can require that all orders be approved by their commercial team before being processed. This extra step ensures that every order meets the company's standards, there is enough inventory and the like. 

For B2B companies, especially those dealing with expensive or customized products, workflow validation acts as a safeguard against costly mistakes. It makes sure that everything about the transaction fits with the company's goals and any legal requirements.

Benefits for the buyer

Workflow validation allows your customers to mirror their company's structure within your online store. This means they can replicate their hierarchy, permissions, and purchasing processes for a seamless experience.

For instance, a junior buyer at a retail company prepares a list of products for the upcoming season. Before the order is placed, it needs to be reviewed and approved by a senior buyer, just as it would be within the company. This guarantees that purchases align with budget and quality standards.

Each step of the validation workflow process is carefully checked, often by multiple people. The goal is to minimize errors, reduce financial risk, and maintain quality throughout the entire transaction.

Each step in this requires careful scrutiny and often involves multiple decision-makers. The goal is to minimize errors, reduce financial risks, and maintain quality standards throughout the process.

The issues many B2B brands face with workflow validation

Many B2B companies grapple with inefficient workflow validation processes that hamper their operations and growth. Here are some common challenges:

• Siloed systems: Different departments use separate tools for approvals, leading to communication breakdowns.
• Manual processes: Reliance on email chains and spreadsheets for tracking approvals causes delays and errors.
• Lack of visibility: Decision-makers struggle to access real-time information about the status of approvals.
• Inconsistent procedures: Absence of standardized validation workflows across the organization.
• Scalability issues: As transaction volumes increase, existing processes become overwhelmed.
• Compliance risks: Difficulty in maintaining audit trails and ensuring adherence to industry regulations
• Integration challenges: Legacy systems don’t play well with all modern platforms. However, advanced solutions like DJUST are designed to work seamlessly with existing infrastructure, transforming outdated data into a usable format.
• Mobile limitations: Lack of on-the-go access for approvals slows down the process for busy executives

These issues are particularly pronounced in industries facing rapid changes and complex supply chains. For instance, challenges in the fashion industry include fast-changing trends and intricate global sourcing, while automotive industry challenges involve long lead times and stringent quality controls.

Expert tip: Do not overlook the critical role of your B2B eCommerce catalog in workflow validation. Catalog management software is essential for handling the complexity of B2B offerings, which often include thousands of stock-keeping units (SKUs) and intricate pricing structures. Solid software ensures the correct products, prices, and terms are presented to each customer during workflow validation. This precision helps prevent pricing errors, approval delays, and potential lost business.

5 ways to streamline your workflow validation

To overcome these challenges and streamline your workflow validation process, consider implementing these five strategies:

1. Embrace a unified commerce approach

The foundation of an efficient workflow validation process lies in adopting a unified commerce platform. This approach integrates all aspects of your B2B operations—from product information management to order processing, customer communication, and incident management—into one cohesive system.

With a platform like DJUST, you can create a seamless environment where workflow validation occurs alongside other critical business processes. This eliminates the need for multiple hand-offs between systems, reducing the potential for errors and delays.

This integration caters to both seller and buyer needs. Sellers can implement customized validation workflows in the checkout process, enforce specific buying policies across sales channels, and ensure consistency in order validation, no matter how the order is placed. Buyers get to mirror their organizational structure in your online store, reflect their internal hierarchy in the purchasing process, and experience a seamless shopping experience that aligns with their internal policies.

Unlike traditional setups that might use separate systems for different functions, such as a standalone B2B PIM (Product Information Management) system, a unified commerce platform does it all. This approach avoids the pitfalls of siloed solutions, where data inconsistencies and integration challenges can hinder efficient workflow validation.

A unified commerce approach also addresses the challenge of maintaining a consistent B2B shopping cart experience across different channels and devices. In the context of workflow validation, this means that the same validation rules and processes are applied consistently— whether an order is initiated through a sales representative, a customer portal, or a mobile app.

Expert tip: When selecting a unified commerce solution, look for one that offers a composable accelerator. This feature allows you to quickly implement and customize your workflow validation process without starting from scratch.

2. Automate approval workflows

Automation is key to speeding up your validation process. By establishing predefined rules and triggers, you can route approvals to the right people at the right time without manual intervention.

For example, in a B2B store, you could implement an automated workflow that:

1. Flags orders above a certain value for financial review.
   
   
2. Routes custom product requests to the engineering team.
   
   
3. Triggers legal approval for transactions with new customers.

This level of automation ensures consistency in your validation process and significantly reduces processing time.

3. Implement real-time tracking and notifications

Visibility is crucial for efficient workflow validation, so implement a system that provides real-time tracking of each step in the approval process. This transparency allows all involved parties to see the current status of a transaction and spot any hold-ups.

Real-time tracking in a B2B customer portal becomes even more powerful when combined with data analytics. By analyzing patterns in your workflow validation process, you can identify recurring bottlenecks, optimize approval thresholds, and even predict potential issues before they occur. This proactive approach allows you to continuously refine and improve your validation workflows over time.

4. Integrate validation with quote negotiation

In B2B transactions, pricing often requires negotiation. You can streamline this process by integrating your validation workflow with quote management.

For instance, DJUST allows you to:

• Create and modify quotes within the same platform used for order validation.
  
  
• Apply volume-based pricing rules automatically.
  
  
• Trigger approval workflows for discounts or special terms.

This integration ensures that all negotiated terms are properly validated before an order is finalized, reducing the risk of pricing errors or unauthorized discounts.

5. Leverage mobile capabilities

The ability to approve transactions on the go is essential to many business customers. That is why we recommend using a headless eCommerce platform with a responsive mobile interface for workflow validation.

With mobile access, decision-makers can:

• Review and approve transactions from anywhere.
  
  
• Access product detail page information to make informed decisions.
  
  
• Provide comments or request additional information without delays.

This flexibility speeds up the validation process and prevents delays caused by unavailable approvers.

Expert tip: When implementing mobile capabilities, ensure your price list software fully integrates with your mobile interface. This will allow approvers to quickly reference pricing information when validating transactions.

The bottom line

Streamlining the workflow validation process is a must for B2B companies aiming to stay successful. You can significantly enhance your operational efficiency by embracing a unified commerce approach, automating approvals, implementing real-time tracking, integrating quote negotiation, and leveraging mobile capabilities. 

Remember, the goal is not just to validate transactions but to do so in a way that supports your business growth and customer satisfaction. With platforms like DJUST, you have the tools to turn your workflow validation into a strategic advantage.