ApproveThis manages your Catalog Machine approvals.

When Catalog Management Meets Approval Automation

Let's be real – managing product catalogs is messy enough without chasing down approvals through Slack threads and forgotten emails. Catalog Machine handles the heavy lifting of creating and updating product materials, while ApproveThis slays the approval dragon. Together through Zapier, they turn "Where's that sign-off?" into "It's already done."

For companies juggling multiple product lines, seasonal updates, or complex pricing structures, this combo isn't just convenient – it's damage control. We're talking about preventing $15k mistakes from accidental price typos, eliminating week-long delays on catalog launches, and finally giving sales teams PDFs that don't embarrass them in front of clients.

Why This Integration Actually Matters

Most approval tools treat every request like a generic checkbox. ApproveThis gets specific – especially when paired with Catalog Machine's product-centric workflows:

• No license tax: Approvers only need ApproveThis access, not Catalog Machine seats (your external vendors will thank you)
• Conditional logic that works: Auto-approve routine updates under $500, but escalate new product launches to the exec team
• Email approvals that don't suck: Review/approve catalog changes directly from your inbox without password resets

Real-world impact? A kitchenware supplier cut their catalog update process from 11 days to 48 hours. A medical device company reduced pricing errors by 73% in Q1. This isn't just about moving faster – it's about not looking amateurish in competitive markets.

5 Ways Teams Actually Use This Combo

1. Killing Order Screw-Ups Before They Ship

The problem: Sales teams promise custom pricing, ops misses the approval email, client gets invoiced wrong.

The fix: When Catalog Machine gets a new order, ApproveThis automatically routes it to the right approver based on discount percentage or client tier. Finance gets anything over 15% off, others auto-approve.

Who cares: Sales ops leads sleeping better knowing their reps aren't going rogue on pricing.

2. Catalog Updates That Don't Require 27 Sign-Offs

The problem: Marketing's "minor" product description change accidentally goes live without legal review.

The fix: Any Catalog Machine update triggers approval chains with conditional routing. Change a safety disclaimer? Legal team gets pinged. Update product specs? Engineering lead gets notified.

Who cares: Product managers who'd rather not explain regulatory fines to the board.

3. Auto-Publishing Without the Risk

The problem: Waiting days for final approval to regenerate catalogs, missing trade show deadlines.

The fix: Approved changes in ApproveThis trigger Catalog Machine to auto-rebuild PDFs and send to print vendors. Denied? Alert the team with rejection reasons.

Who cares: Trade show coordinators who aren't paying overnight shipping fees anymore.

4. Importing Products Without the Spreadsheet Hangover

The problem: CSV imports breaking catalogs because someone forgot to format SKUs correctly.

The fix: After any Catalog Machine product import, ApproveThis requires QA lead sign-off before new items go live. Bonus points for using calculated fields to flag SKU format issues automatically.

Who cares: E-commerce managers tired of midnight calls about broken product pages.

5. Keeping Sales Materials From Going Rogue

The problem: Reps using outdated PDFs because they can't wait for official approvals.

The fix: New ApproveThis requests auto-save draft products in Catalog Machine, but only publish after full approval. Sales gets a temporary link that expires in 24hrs if not approved.

Who cares: CMOs who don't want their new packaging leaked early on some rep's personal Google Drive.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

If you can handle IKEA instructions, you can handle this Zapier setup:

1. Connect Catalog Machine and ApproveThis in Zapier (takes 2 minutes)
2. Pick your trigger (new order, catalog update, etc.)
3. Map key fields – SKUs, pricing, client tiers matter most
4. Test with a $0 test product order to avoid accidental launches

Pro tip: Use ApproveThis' approval thresholds to auto-approve small changes. Your team doesn't need to micromanage every $5 price update on commodity items.

Who Actually Benefits (Beyond the Obvious)

Sales Teams

Get custom quotes approved before the client loses interest. Ever had a hot lead go cold waiting on VP approval? Exactly.

Product Managers

Launch new SKUs without herding 12 stakeholders. Set sequential approvals – engineering signs off first, then marketing, then legal. No more circular feedback.

Operations

Stop being the approval police. When Catalog Machine imports hit specific error thresholds (like missing HTS codes), ApproveThis auto-flags them for your team. Everything else flows through.

External Partners

Distributors can request custom catalog versions without getting full Catalog Machine access. They submit via ApproveThis, you control what they see, everyone stays friends.

The Hidden Perks You'll Actually Use

Beyond the big claims, teams get addicted to:

• Vacation coverage that works: Approver OOO? Delegation rules auto-reassign their approvals. No more "Sorry, I was on PTO" excuses.
• Audit trails that cover your ass: Every approval decision logged with timestamps and comments. Perfect for compliance reviews.
• Mobile approvals that don't suck: Approvers can review full Catalog Machine product images and specs right in the approval email.

When to Steal These Workflows

If any of these sound familiar, stop what you're doing:

- Your last catalog update required 37 email threads
- Sales has more "unofficial" price lists than approved ones
- You've shipped orders with pricing errors more than twice this quarter
- Product launches get delayed by approval bottlenecks
- You're manually rebuilding PDFs after every minor change

Getting Started Without the BS

No "digital transformation" jargon here. Just:

1. Grab an ApproveThis trial (takes 3 minutes)
2. Connect to Catalog Machine via Zapier
3. Clone one of the workflows we just discussed

Or book a 15-minute demo where we'll show how other product teams are using this – no sales fluff, just actual screenshots.

Bottom Line

Approvals shouldn't be where productivity goes to die. With Catalog Machine and ApproveThis talking through Zapier, you're not just automating clicks – you're preventing expensive mistakes, keeping teams aligned, and actually hitting those launch dates for once.