With Sastrify, implementing a procurement workflow for new SaaS purchases or renewals is simple and efficient. Using the Workflows feature, you can define workflows that automatically trigger new purchase or renewal initiatives. The platform also allows you to structure your company's procurement stages and assign approvers for each stage, enabling seamless collaboration across departments. 

Additionally, you can customize capture forms using the Sastrify Form Builder, providing full flexibility to collect additional information during procurement initiatives.

Definition of terminology: A procurement workflow refers to the series of steps involved in purchasing or renewing IT products and services, with each stage involving an assigned approver.

IN THIS ARTICLE

• Create new workflows
• Where will the workflow & the intake form be used?
• Build a customized intake form
• Edit a workflow
• Frequently Asked Questions

Create new workflows

Workflows can be accessed from Settings > Workflows Setup.

To create a new workflow:

1. Click the "New Workflow" button.
2. As the first step, select the workflow type: New Purchase or Renewal.
3. Click "Next".

4. Select the intake form option: default form or customized form, and click "Next".

   • If the latter is selected, you will be redirected to the Sastrify Form Builder. (Refer to the next section for the detailed guide on how to work with the the Form Builder.)
     

   
   

   

   
   
5. Add a name to your workflow.
6. Define the procurement stages and their assignee from the drop-down menu (the person who will be the responsible stakeholder and approver of the stage).
7. If an additional stage is needed, click the "Add a new stage" button located on the top right corner.
8. You have the option to save the workflow as a draft.
   
9. Click "Activate" to finalize and activate the workflow.
   
   

At any given time, you can only have 1 workflow active for each type (new purchase and renewal), while drafts can be created for as many as possible

Where will the workflow & the intake form be used?

The workflow set up here will be implemented to support a feature called Procurement Initiatives, which you can use when you are to kickstart a new purchase or to renew an existing tool.

In step 2, when selecting the intake option, the choice you make will impact the length of the input form when starting a new procurement initiative.

1. Choosing Sastrify's default intake form will allow you to use the pre-defined form, which cannot be modified when starting a new initiative (step 1).
2. Opting for customization won't alter the default form but will add a second step labeled "Share more details". This step lets you define an additional form with your own questions and fields to better align with your internal procurement process.

Now that this is clear, let's move on to the next section on how to work with Sastrify Form Builder. 

Build a customized intake form

Add a form component

The builder offers a variety of components—including short text, paragraph, single-select, multi-select, email, content, URL, and date picker— so you can seamlessly customize forms to match your specific requirements.

To add a form component:

1. Drag it from the left column to the blank area on the right side of the Form Builder.
2. Set general attributes like label, placeholder, description, and tooltip. 
3. Use the Preview section to see real-time changes as you adjust settings.
4. Click "Save" to finalize the component creation.

For a brief overview of each component and how it works, refer to this article.

Edit a form component

To edit a form component, hover over it, and a set of settings will appear (each component has its own settings). These settings allow you to:

• Edit the component by changing its label, adding a description, adding a tooltip, or marking it as required.

• Move the component to a different location or reorder it.

• Copy and paste to create another version of the component and place it in a different location.

• Remove the component from the form.

The preset components are meant to serve as fillers and examples for Sastrify admins. You are free to remove them, start over, and define your own form as you see fit.

The Form Builder offers maximum flexibility, allowing you to replicate your internal processes in Sastrify and tailor them to your specific needs. Since no two procurement processes are the same, this level of customization ensures a seamless fit for your workflows.

Pro Tip: When you add a component, we recommend that you edit it by using Description and Tooltip to add additional information that can be helpful to the input process. Please see the example below:

Edit a workflow

To adjust a workflow after creation, follow these steps:

1. Select the workflow.
2. Click the 3-dot icon for that specific task and select "Edit".
3. Make the necessary changes. 
4. Confirm your changes by clicking "Activate".

Attention: A workflow can only be edited if there is no active initiative currently using that workflow. In other words, any active initiative must be fully completed, and the initiative bubble must show a zero.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I enable multiple workflows for the same procurement initiative type?

A: No, you cannot. Although you can create and draft as many workflows as you like, you can only activate 1 workflow for each type.

Q: I cannot find the assignee in the drop-down menu. What should I do?

A: Before a user can collaborate in Sastrify or be assigned to a task, you need to make sure that this person is already invited to Sastrify and is an active user. To invite a colleague, go to Settings > Users & Company Data > Sastrify Users. Then click on the "Invite users" button. Fill in the details and send the invitation. After the person has accepted the invitation and the login has been created, you can go back and try to assign a task to this person.

Q: Which of the 3 user roles—Admin, Contributor, and Viewer can create a workflow? 

A: Only users with the Admin role can create a workflow. Refer to this article to understand different user roles and permissions.

Q: Can I assign more than one person to a task?

A: No, you can only assign a stage to one person.

Q: As part of our company's process, we would like to include files as part of the form because the person requesting the initiative needs to be able to download them for their review. Can I use the Custom Form Builder to do this?

A: You absolutely can! One component you will need to use is Content. It allows you to add the link to the files (i.e., to your company's shared folder). For a more detailed guide to the Content component and other components, please see this article.