Purchase Order Approval Workflow
The Purchase Order approval workflow ensures that procurement requests are reviewed and authorized before they are sent to the supplier.
A Purchase Order must remain controlled throughout its lifecycle, from initial preparation to final delivery.
Purchase Order Lifecycle
1. Draft
The Purchase Order is being prepared.
At this stage, the PO can be reviewed and completed before it enters the approval workflow.
Typical information includes:
Supplier
Items
Quantities
Unit prices
Taxes
Additional charges
Destination store
Expected delivery information
2. Submitted for Approval
Once the Purchase Order is complete, the user submits it for approval.
Submitting the PO indicates:
After submission, the PO enters the approval workflow.
3. Waiting for Approval
The Purchase Order is now waiting for an authorized approver.
The approver reviews the procurement request and determines whether it should proceed.
The review may include:
Supplier
Requested items
Quantities
Pricing
Taxes
Total amount
Destination
Procurement justification
Supporting information
Approval Decision
The approver can generally:
Approve → Continue procurement
Reject → Return the PO for correction or stop the procurement request
4. Approved
The Purchase Order has successfully passed the approval process.
At this point, the procurement request is authorized to proceed.
The approved PO can now move toward supplier fulfillment.
5. Waiting for Delivery
The approved Purchase Order has been issued or made available to the supplier, and the organization is waiting for the goods to arrive.
The PO remains in this state until the expected goods are received.
The system can track:
Ordered quantity
Delivered quantity
Pending quantity
Expected delivery
Supplier
Purchase Order reference
6. Goods Receiving
When the supplier delivers the goods, the receiving team begins the receiving process.
The team verifies:
Purchase Order
Item
Quantity
Product condition
Batch
Expiry date
Destination store
The receiving process determines what was:
Received
Accepted
Returned
Still Pending
7. Completely Delivered
The Purchase Order reaches Completely Delivered when all expected quantities have been received and successfully processed according to the receiving workflow.
Complete Workflow
Status | What it means | Can supplier fulfillment proceed? |
|---|---|---|
Draft | PO is being prepared. | No |
Submitted for Approval | PO has been submitted for review. | No |
Waiting for Approval | PO is awaiting authorized approval. | No |
Approved | PO has been authorized. | Yes |
Waiting for Delivery | Supplier delivery is pending. | Yes |
Goods Receiving | Delivered goods are being verified. | Receiving process |
Completely Delivered | Expected goods have been fully received and processed. | Complete |
The Purchase Order should not move into supplier fulfillment while it is still waiting for approval.
Procurement Control Principle
The workflow separates preparation, authorization, fulfillment, and receiving.
This separation provides a clear audit trail showing:
Who created the Purchase Order
Who submitted it
Who approved it
When it was approved
When supplier fulfillment started
What was delivered
What was accepted
What was returned
When the Purchase Order was completed