ApproveThis manages your DPD Integration approvals.

When Approvals Meet Logistics: No More Bottlenecks

Let’s cut to the chase: approvals suck when they’re manual. Especially in logistics, where delays cost money and customers. Combine ApproveThis (the approval automation tool that doesn’t make you want to scream) with DPD (the logistics platform that actually gets shit delivered), and you’ve got a combo that’ll make your procurement team stop complaining for once.

We’re talking about automating purchase approvals for shipping contracts, expediting last-minute delivery requests, and making sure your finance team doesn’t have a meltdown when reviewing freight costs. And the best part? You’re doing it all through Zapier, so no coding required – just common sense.

What This Combo Actually Fixes

Here’s the thing: DPD handles the physical movement of goods. ApproveThis handles the bureaucratic movement of decisions. Together, they fix the three biggest headaches in logistics operations:

• Speed: No more waiting days for a manager to approve a rush delivery
• Cost Control: Automatic escalation for shipments that blow past budget thresholds
• Accountability: Every decision tracked – no more “I never saw that request” excuses

Take that client who always needs emergency shipments. With this integration, their request triggers an approval workflow that automatically pings the right people based on shipment size, cost, or destination. If your usual approver’s on vacation? ApproveThis delegates it. Need CFO sign-off for anything over $50k? Done before the requestor finishes their coffee.

Real-World Scenarios (That Don’t Suck)

1. The Rush Job That Wasn’t a Cluster

A manufacturing client needs same-day approval for expedited parts delivery from Germany. Here’s how it goes down:

- DPD flags the urgent shipment request
- Zapier triggers an ApproveThis workflow
- Rules check: Is this supplier pre-approved? Yes
- Cost triggers: Under $10k? Auto-approved
- Shipping method: Ground vs Air? Routes to logistics manager

Total approval time: 22 minutes. Without this? Three days of emails and missed deadlines.

2. Budgets That Actually Matter

Your procurement team negotiates volume discounts with carriers. But someone always tries to sneak through non-contract shipments. Now:

- Any DPD purchase not using approved vendors gets flagged
- Approval workflow requires 2 signatures from finance
- Shipping manager gets real-time updates in ApproveThis dashboard

Result: 40% reduction in rogue shipping costs last quarter for a retail client.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

Here’s the beauty part – if you can use a toaster, you can set this up:

1. Connect DPD and ApproveThis in Zapier (takes 90 seconds)
2. Choose your trigger in DPD (new purchase, shipment request, etc.)
3. Map the data to ApproveThis fields (cost, vendor, priority)
4. Set your approval rules once in ApproveThis

Pro tip: Start with one workflow – like all international shipments over $5k. Get that running smooth, then scale to other processes. No need to boil the ocean day one.

Who Actually Benefits (Besides Your Sanity)

Procurement Teams

They’re drowning in carrier contracts and rate negotiations. Now, any non-standard DPD shipment automatically routes through pre-defined approval chains. Vendor compliance up, maverick spending down.

Finance Departments

Using ApproveThis’ calculated fields, they set hard limits: “Auto-deny any air freight request where ground would’ve been 20% cheaper.” Budgets stop being suggestions.

Operations Managers

Real-time tracking in ApproveThis means they see approval bottlenecks before shipments delay. Plus, vacation delegation prevents “waiting on Gary” syndrome.

The Killer Feature Everyone Misses

Here’s the secret sauce: ApproveThis approvers don’t need DPD licenses. Your external partners (3PLs, clients, contractors) can approve shipments or purchases without you buying them seats in DPD. They just click approve/reject in email. No login. No training. No BS.

Example: A construction firm uses this for client-billed shipments. Client PMs get approval emails with shipment details, click approve, and it auto-logs in DPD. No chasing down signatures or explaining the DPD interface to technophobe clients.

When Not to Use This (Yes, Really)

This isn’t magic fairy dust. If your approval processes are a mess to begin with, automating them just breaks things faster. Get your rules straight first:

- What needs approval vs auto-okay?
- Who are the real decision-makers?
- What’s the escalation path?

Also, if you’re doing 10 shipments a month, maybe just use email. But once you hit scale – that’s where this pays off.

What’s Next (Besides Finally Going Home on Time)

The integration works today. Right now. No “coming soon” vaporware. Setup takes less time than your next Zoom meeting that should’ve been an email.

Best part? ApproveThis has a free tier. So you can test drive this with one DPD workflow, no budget approvals needed. Imagine that.

Get started if you’re tired of being the approval bottleneck. Or book a demo to see how other logistics teams cut approval times by 80%. Your choice. But maybe choose before your next rush shipment hits the fan.