Purchase approvals: from a request in Teams to an approved purchase request.
The request is written in Teams, in the words of the person who needs the item. The agent looks up the item in the catalogue and proposes the purchase request as a card, which the person confirms. The application picks the approvers by category and value, and the decision is recorded on the request, with the approval history.
A 30-minute conversation about your purchasing workflow.
I need 500 blue pens by the end of the month.
Purchasing
Purchase request proposal
- Item
- Blue pen
- Quantity
- 500 pcs
- Deadline
- End of the month
- Request
- Proposal
- Purchase request
Today
- Purchase requests are sent by email or chat.
- Purchasing looks up the item and its code and fills in the request by hand.
- Approval is requested by email, from each approver separately.
- The status of the request and the approvals given are not recorded anywhere.
With the flow
- The request is written in Teams, and the agent proposes it from the catalogue.
- The person confirms the request from the card they receive.
- The application sends the request to the approvers set by category and value.
- The requester receives the decision and the approval history in Teams.
Step by step
Purchase approvals
Teams to AI agent
Step 1: Request
Someone writes in Teams what they need: 500 blue pens, by the end of the month. The agent asks only for what is missing.
AI agent to Process app
Step 2: Search
The agent looks up the item in your catalogue, by name and by code, and proposes only items found there.
Process app to Teams
Step 3: Proposal
The agent shows the proposal in Teams as a card, with the item, the quantity and the deadline. The deadline can be changed.
Teams to Process app
Step 4: Purchase request
The person clicks Create. Only now is the purchase request saved, as a draft.
Process app to Teams
Step 5: Approval
Sent for approval: the application picks the approvers by category and value.
Process app to Teams
Step 6: Approved
The approved purchase request stays in the application, with its approvals and history. The requester receives the decision in Teams.
What it is based on
Process and approval workflows on Power Apps and Power Automate, delivered at three accounts, and six-step, role-based approvals. Data entry through a Copilot Studio agent is in pilot on two approval workflows.
Workflow walkthrough
We walk through it together, from request to order, with a purchase request like yours.
What the workflow does
- 01
Every purchase request starts from the catalogue, with the item, the quantity and the deadline filled in.
- 02
Approvers are picked by the category and value of the request, following your rules.
- 03
The request is saved only after the person who raised it confirms it.
- 04
Every approval is recorded on the request, with the approver and the date.
What it runs on
Microsoft 365, Teams, Copilot Studio, Power Apps and Power Automate. Everything in your own tenant, with no separate platform to license.
- Microsoft Teams
- Copilot Studio
- Power Apps
- Power Automate
Questions from purchasing and finance
Can the agent propose an item that is not in the catalogue?
No. The agent uses only the items in your catalogue and the data the user provides. It does not fill in codes or prices it has not found in the catalogue.
Who decides the approvers?
You do. The rules by category and value are configured in the application.
Can the approved request become an order in the ERP?
Yes, if you place orders in your ERP. The integration writes the order to the ERP programmatically, with no API needed on the ERP, and the order number is written back to the request.
How is a purchase request approved in your company today?
Tell us in 30 minutes. We will tell you what can be automated, and at what fixed price.
Thank you.
We will reply within one business day.