ApproveThis manages your ElasticPath Integration approvals.

When Approval Bottlenecks Meet Commerce Chaos

Let's get real - most approval processes suck. Someone submits a request. It gets lost in Slack. Three people need to sign off, but Karen from Legal's on vacation. Meanwhile, your commerce team's trying to launch a new product page through ElasticPath, but the pricing approval's stuck in email purgatory. This is why companies between 50-5,000 employees keep burning midnight oil.

ApproveThis isn't just another task manager with a "approve" button. It's how teams automate decision-making without losing their minds. And when you plug it into ElasticPath's commerce tools via Zapier? That's when you actually start shipping projects instead of chasing inboxes.

Why This Combo Works (When Others Don't)

ElasticPath handles the heavy lifting of commerce operations - product launches, pricing updates, promo campaigns. ApproveThis handles the human layer: "Does this price make sense?" "Who needs to vet this copy?" "Why is this discount request $500 over budget?"

Most approval tools force you to choose between flexibility and control. ApproveThis gives both:

• Multi-step approvals that mirror how your company actually works (not some consultant's flowchart)
• Automatic escalations when requests hit certain $ thresholds
• Delegated approvals when people are OOO (no more "Waiting on Jim" status)

And here's the kicker: approvers don't need ElasticPath licenses. Your external vendors can approve purchase orders without getting access to your commerce backend. Your legal team can review T&C updates without needing admin rights. This matters when you're coordinating across 10+ departments.

Real-World Use Cases That Don't Feel Like Corporate Fluff

1. Killing Discount Request Gridlock

Scenario: Your sales team uses ElasticPath forms to submit custom discount requests. Problem? Deals get stuck waiting for regional manager → finance → CRO approvals. By connecting form submissions to ApproveThis:

• Deals auto-route based on discount percentage (≤10% needs manager, >10% escalates to finance)
• Approvers get email notifications with one-click approve/deny
• Sales gets real-time updates without Slack-bombing execs

Impact: A cybersecurity vendor reduced approval times from 72 hours to 4.7 hours average. That's 15x faster deal velocity.

2. Preventing Brand Embarrassment (Without Micromanaging)

Scenario: Marketing wants to launch a new campaign page in ElasticPath. Legal needs to vet disclosures, product needs to verify specs. Old process? Endless email threads. New setup:

- Page submissions trigger parallel approvals to legal + product leads
- Only BOTH need to approve for page to go live
- Auto-reminders ping slackers at 24/48 hour marks

Result: A consumer goods company cut 320 hours/month of "Where are we on this?" meetings.

3. Stopping Rogue Procurement

Scenario: Team leads request software purchases via ElasticPath forms. Finance keeps finding $200/mo SaaS tools that "nobody approved". Now:

- Any purchase over $500 requires CFO approval
- Recurring subscriptions auto-flag for IT security review
- All approvals sync back to ElasticPath for audit trails

Outcome: A 1,200-employee tech firm reduced unauthorized spend by 83% in Q1.

Setup That Doesn't Require a PhD

If you can make toast, you can connect these tools:

1. Create your ElasticPath form: Build the request form your team will use (discounts, procurement, etc)
2. Make a Zapier account: Free tier works for testing (get started here)
3. Build the Zap: Choose "ElasticPath Form Submit" as trigger → "Create ApproveThis Request" as action
4. Map fields: Connect form data to approval requests (amounts, requesters, due dates)
5. Set approval rules: In ApproveThis, configure who approves what based on $ thresholds, departments, etc.

Pro tip: Start with one high-impact workflow (like discount approvals) before scaling to other use cases.

Why Your Teams Will Actually Use This

For Finance:

No more surprise expenses. Approval thresholds ensure any spend over $X automatically routes to your desk. Calculated fields in ApproveThis let you set rules like "Discounts over 15% require gross margin check".

For Legal/Compliance:

Parallel approvals mean you can review T&C updates while product checks specs. Vacation delegation stops requests from piling up when you're in depositions.

For Operations:

Real-time dashboards show exactly where bottlenecks are. Is procurement stuck on step 3? Now you know who to nudge.

For External Partners:

Vendors approve purchase orders via email without ElasticPath access. Clients sign off on project specs without getting added to your CRM.

But Wait - There's Actual ROI

This isn't hypothetical. Companies using ApproveThis + ElasticPath see:

- 68% faster approvals: From 5.3 days avg to 1.7 days
- 42% fewer errors: Structured forms beat free-form emails
- $27k/month saved: By catching rogue spend early

And because approvers don't need extra licenses, scaling costs stay predictable as you grow.

Common Objections (And Why They're BS)

"We already use [Some Legacy Tool]"

Great. Does it integrate with ElasticPath? Can approvers vote via email? Does it auto-route based on $ amounts? Thought so.

"Our process is too complex"

ApproveThis handles multi-layer approvals with conditional logic. If you can flowchart it, you can automate it.

"We'll set it up later"

Your competitors aren't waiting. While you're manually routing requests, they're closing deals faster.

Next Steps That Don't Suck

Option 1: Register for ApproveThis and try a pre-built ElasticPath template (takes 8 minutes).
Option 2: Book a 15-min demo to see how teams like yours scaled approvals without hiring.

Pro tip: Bring your messiest approval process. We love a good challenge.