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Case study · automotive supplier

Procurement and employee training with Power Apps at an automotive supplier

For an automotive supplier, I digitized internal request processes with the Microsoft Power Platform. A canvas app for purchase requests to procurement has been in use company-wide since 2023; a second app covers seminar requests from application to feedback. Around 100 cloud flows control approvals, reminders, Planner tasks, and the automatic synchronization of HR data.

Discuss a similar projectAll case studies
  • since 04/2022
  • more than 3,000 employees
  • Implementation
Industry
Automotive supplier
Company size
more than 3,000 employees
Scope
international sales at more than 20 locations
Period
since 04/2022
My role
Consulting, process and data design, architecture, implementation, and support
Type
Implementation

5.000+

purchase requisitions entered via the procurement app (as of 09/2026)

7.200+

line items in these purchase requisitions

240+

requesters from 32 departments

99

Power Automate flows in the production environment for procurement, training, and HR data

1.400

HR records synchronized automatically from the HR system and the directory service (as of 12/2023)

90+

person-days of project work since 2022

01The situation

Where the project started.

For purchase requisitions to purchasing, there was a prescribed approval procedure with spending thresholds: smaller amounts are approved by the department head, while larger amounts must also be approved by management. This procedure was to be turned into a digital, traceable process that works consistently for all companies and departments.

Seminar planning was done in a central Excel list, with several hundred planned external seminars for a single year alone. Needs were collected per department and submitted together to management for approval, the HR department handled the registrations, and proof of attendance and seminar evaluations were collected separately.

Both processes need reliable organizational data: who belongs to which company, department, and team? Who is a manager, and who approves? This information was spread across the HR management system and the directory service. In addition, some employees do not have their own Microsoft 365 account.

Goals

  • Record purchase requisitions with any number of line items in one app and pass them to purchasing via a value-dependent approval procedure
  • Digitally submit, approve, book, and follow up on seminar requests, including the catalog, providers, costs, and dates
  • Derive approvers automatically from company and department instead of maintaining them manually
  • Merge HR and organizational data automatically and regularly from the HR system and the directory service
  • Control reminders, escalations, and cancellations without manual follow-up
  • Design access rights to the data so that everyday changes are made via the apps

02Solution

What I designed and built.

Canvas app for submitting purchase requisitions to purchasing

I developed a canvas app with eight screens in which a purchase requisition consists of a header record and any number of line items. Requests are created in draft status, can be copied, edited, and given attachments, and only go into approval when they are deliberately submitted.

The app uses only standard form, gallery, and attachment controls. Attachments are added to or removed from the SharePoint item via dedicated helper flows, and the app detects via a flow whether it is running in the development or production environment.

  • List view with search, status, and the associated items in a split view
  • Line items with quantity, description, delivery date, price, cost center, intended use, supplier, and link
  • Editing and deleting only in draft status
  • Cost center selection by company and department with cutoff date logic so that older requests keep their previous values
  • Further required information such as delivery location and energy assessment, added later without breaking existing records
  • Deep links from the notification emails directly into the respective request
  • 16-page quick guide for the company-wide launch

Approval process based on the requested amount, with up to four stages

A central flow with around 240 actions handles approval. It adds up the line item prices, identifies the responsible approval groups based on the requester's company and department, and uses spending thresholds (including €1,000 and €5,000) to determine which stages are required. Power Automate approvals are sent to the members of the respective Entra ID group.

  • Four approval levels plus purchasing, each level with person, status, date, and comment in the record
  • Planner task for purchasing with an item overview and links to the attachments
  • Completing the Planner task automatically sets the purchase requisition to ordered and notifies the requester
  • Check the out-of-office setting for the responsible purchasing employee; if they are absent, send the information to a central purchasing email address
  • Reminders to approvers and purchasing after 4, 14, and 25 days, automatic return to draft after 30 days without a response
  • Administrative flows for reinitializing individual requests, for bulk corrections, and for creating Planner tasks after the fact

Canvas app for seminar requests with a complete lifecycle

For training, I built a second canvas app with six screens and three reusable components (navigation, loading indicator, and message dialog). A request always applies to exactly one person and separates the requester, the participant, and the manager, each with department and cost center.

Seminars are selected from a maintained catalog with providers and categories or entered without using the catalog. After attending, participants upload proof of attendance and submit a structured evaluation with nine rating questions, from which the app calculates an average.

  • Six roles in the app: requester, participant, manager, approver, administrator, and super administrator
  • Roles are derived at startup from HR master data and group memberships
  • Status model from draft through approval, booking, attendance, and proof of attendance to feedback and completion
  • Create, copy, submit, cancel, soft delete, and close administratively as separate actions
  • Export the currently filtered requests to Excel through a flow that uses a template file and emails the result
  • Logging of app launches in a separate list

Approval chain and reminder logic for seminars

The seminar approval process consists of linked flows: a start flow responds to submission and calls the manager, department head, management, and seminar management stages in sequence through HTTP triggers. Each stage records the person, status, comment, timestamps, and run reference in a separate process list. At €2,000 or more, the department head also decides; at €5,000 or more, management also decides.

  • 37 flows in the training process, 20 of them scheduled
  • Reminders to approvers after 4, 10, and 20 days, cancellation after 30 days
  • Planner task for seminar management for booking, booking confirmation to participants when the task is completed
  • Notice three days before the seminar starts, request for proof of attendance on the day after the seminar with reminders after 3 and 12 days
  • Feedback reminders after 5 and 15 days, automatic completion 30 days after attendance
  • If a request is canceled or deleted, a flow terminates the approval run still in progress through flow management and informs everyone involved.

Automatic synchronization of HR and organizational data

Both apps are based on a central master data store in SharePoint that 40 flows maintain automatically. Users and managers are read from the directory service via the Microsoft Graph API; teams, department and group heads, and cost centers come from export files of the HR management system.

Processing is split into steps: a scheduled flow starts a child flow via HTTP, which processes the records in blocks of 50. This keeps run times and throttling limits under control.

  • Around 1,400 HR records with personnel number, company, department, department head, group head, and team (as of 12/2023)
  • Handling of employees with and without an email address in separate import runs
  • Daily import of cost centers and updates to purchasing employee records
  • Daily maintenance of a security group for app access based on company, department, and approval groups
  • Data source for an organization chart on the SharePoint page
  • Error notification by email with a link to the affected flow run

Permission model for SharePoint and apps

For the lists, I defined a custom SharePoint permission level that lets users view, add, and edit items but not delete them or open list forms or views. This level is assigned to the automatically maintained security group so that everyday changes are made via the apps.

  • Approval groups per company and department as Entra ID groups, assignment in a central list
  • Documentation of the permissions and data fields per list
  • Analysis of the visibility of requests in an existing business travel process, with a clear separation between view and actual permission

Operations, ongoing development, and error analysis

Since the launch, I have continued to support both applications. This includes new functional requirements, adjustments to status models and approval paths, and the analysis of errors in day-to-day operations based on app sources, flow runs, and data exports.

  • Range-based loading of large lists via a numeric helper column and parallel retrieval, because the lists have grown well beyond 5,000 items
  • Switching critical write operations from readable business numbers to technical IDs after duplicate numbers had occurred
  • Complete backup of all flows with updated HTTP triggers, as well as support with the switch to a new email domain
  • Regular backups of the app versions, the flows, and the list data

03In detail

Apps, processes, and data at a glance.

Names and content are described in neutral terms - I never name clients.

Apps2

  • Purchase requisition to purchasingCanvas app · 8 screensRecording of purchase requisitions with line items, attachments, cost centers, and status tracking; start of the value-dependent approval procedure.
  • Seminar managementCanvas app · 6 screensSeminar requests from the catalog or entered freely, role-dependent overviews, approval status, upload of proof of attendance, seminar evaluation with nine questions, and Excel export.

Cloud flows (selection)

  • Purchase requisition approval procedureTrigger: HTTP call from the app on submissionAdds up item prices, determines approval groups, controls up to four approval levels, creates the Planner task for purchasing, and resets requests after 30 days without a response.
  • Procurement remindersTrigger: schedule, dailyNine flows remind approvers and purchasing of open purchase requisitions after 4, 14, and 25 days, including attachments.
  • Purchasing completionTrigger: Planner task completedRetrieves the order information, sets the purchase requisition to ordered, and notifies the requester.
  • App helper flows for procurementTrigger: Power AppsAdd and delete attachments, start approval, and determine the environment.
  • Seminar request approval chainTrigger: status change in SharePoint, then chained HTTP callsFive flows for start, manager, department head, management, and seminar management with approvals, a Planner task, and a log per level.
  • Training reminders and status changesTrigger: schedule, dailyTwelve reminder flows for approvers, five for participants, and three scheduled status changes up to automatic completion.
  • Cancellation, deletion, and completionTrigger: status change in SharePointNotify everyone involved and cancel approval runs that are still in progress via flow management.
  • Excel export of seminar requestsTrigger: Power AppsReads the requests filtered in the app together with evaluations, fills an Excel template in SharePoint, and sends the file by email.
  • HR data synchronizationTrigger: schedule, daily or weekly, child flows via HTTP40 flows read users, managers, and groups via the Graph API, import export files from the HR system, and maintain master data, cost centers, and the security group for app access.

Data model11

  • Purchase requisitionSharePoint listHeader record with requester, department, status, approval levels, purchasing data, and Planner reference
  • Line itemsSharePoint listLine items of a purchase requisition, linked to the header record via lookup
  • Approval groupsSharePoint listAssignment of company and department to the Entra ID groups of the approval levels
  • Purchasing and cost centersSharePoint listPurchasing employees and cost centers per company or department
  • HR master dataSharePoint listCentral data store with personnel number, company, department, team, department head, and group head
  • Organizational dataSharePoint listCompanies, departments, groups, teams, and directory objects as lookup values
  • Seminar requestsSharePoint listSeminar request with participants, costs, dates, overall status, booking, proof of attendance, and completion
  • Seminar processSharePoint listLog of the approval levels with person, status, comment, timestamps, and run reference
  • Seminar catalog, seminar providers, and seminar categoriesSharePoint listMaster data for recurring seminars, providers, and categories
  • Seminar evaluationSharePoint listNine ratings, free text, and average per seminar request
  • User log and export librarySharePoint list and libraryLog of app launches and storage of the Excel template and export files

Integrations7

  • Microsoft Graph API (HTTP with app registration) for users, managers, and group members
  • Microsoft Entra ID for approval groups and automatic maintenance of a security group
  • HR management system via CSV or Excel export files, processed with Power Automate and Office Scripts
  • Microsoft Planner for purchasing and booking tasks
  • Office 365 Outlook, including the automatic reply status of mailboxes
  • SharePoint REST API for targeted field updates
  • Power Automate Management and Power Apps for Makers for app metadata and ending running flows

04Tricky parts

Challenges and how I solved them.

Custom permission level instead of full access

So that data is changed via the apps in everyday use, users receive a custom SharePoint permission level without delete rights and without access to list forms and views. They still need edit rights on the lists themselves for the apps. The associated security group is populated daily by a flow based on company, department, and approval groups.

Approvers from organizational data instead of manual maintenance

The flows determine the approvers from company and department via an assignment list and Entra ID groups. If a manager changes, only the group membership is changed; apps and flows remain unchanged. For this, HR data from the HR system and the directory service is merged automatically.

Terminating pending approval runs

If a seminar request is canceled or deleted while an approval is still pending, a flow reads the stored run reference from the process log and ends the relevant flow run via flow management.

Large lists in canvas apps

The lists for purchase requisitions and items have grown well beyond 5,000 items. The apps therefore load the data in parallel in ranges of 2,000 items each via a numeric helper column and then work with local collections. A flow fills the helper column for new items automatically.

Unambiguous assignment despite duplicate business numbers

In operation, duplicate sequential purchase requisition numbers occurred. By comparing app source versions, data exports, and version histories, I narrowed down two independent causes and switched the write operations for editing, deleting, and starting the approval to technical record IDs.

05Approach

Step by step to the result.

  1. 1

    Planning (2022)

    Plan for gradually rolling out low-code in the company, from rollout through adoption to a Center of Excellence, plus workshops on the Power Platform.

  2. 2

    Procurement app (09/2022 to 04/2023)

    Requirements gathering with purchasing, data field documentation and process flow diagram, development of the app and flows, launch with purchasing at the end of 2022, and company-wide launch in April 2023 with invitations sent automatically per department and a quick guide.

  3. 3

    HR data and permissions (2023)

    Building the automated synchronization from the HR system and the directory service, moving the approval groups into the central master data store, a custom permission level, and permission documentation.

  4. 4

    Training design (05/2023 to 10/2023)

    Taking over an initial prototype, kickoff with the business owners, process flow diagram, data field documentation, and migration of the catalog and provider data to SharePoint.

  5. 5

    Training implementation (06/2024 to 10/2024)

    Building the app from scratch, role and permission model, approval chain of team lead, department head, management, and seminar management, as well as reminder and status flows, with regular status updates.

  6. 6

    Rollout and support (since 2025)

    Launch with a pilot department in May 2025, adjustment of the manager logic and approval path, flow backups, and ongoing development of both apps, including cost centers, delivery location, and a simplified approval path in procurement (2026).

06Result

What works differently today.

  • The procurement app has been in use company-wide since April 2023. By September 2026, more than 5,000 purchase requisitions with over 7,200 line items had been recorded; around 4,600 requisitions had reached the ordered status.
  • More than 240 employees from 32 departments have submitted purchase requisitions.
  • Approvals, reminders, and the handover to purchasing run without manual follow-up; each step is documented in the request with person, date, and comment.
  • The training app has been in use since May 2025, initially with a pilot department. Seminar requests are submitted, approved, booked, and completed with proof of attendance and an evaluation in the app.
  • HR and organizational data are kept up to date automatically and shared by both applications.

Technologies

  • Microsoft Power Automate (cloud flows, approvals)
  • Microsoft Power Apps (canvas apps)
  • Microsoft SharePoint Online / Microsoft Lists
  • Microsoft Planner
  • Microsoft Graph API
  • Microsoft Entra ID (security and Microsoft 365 groups)
  • Office 365 Outlook and Office 365 Users
  • Excel Online (Business) and Office Scripts
  • Microsoft Visio (process documentation)

Demonstrated skills

  • Designing and implementing multi-stage approval processes with spending thresholds in Power Automate
  • Developing large canvas apps on SharePoint with role logic and deep links
  • Data modeling with header and line item structures, master data, and process logs in SharePoint
  • Integrating the Microsoft Graph API, Entra ID, Planner, and Outlook into business processes
  • Automated import of HR data from an HR management system
  • SharePoint permission models with custom permission levels
  • Handling large SharePoint lists and delegation limits in Power Apps
  • Long-term operation, error analysis, and ongoing development of Power Platform solutions in production

07Questions and answers

Frequently asked questions

How do you implement approvals based on spending thresholds in Power Automate?
The flow first adds up the request value and decides, based on fixed spending thresholds, which approval levels are required. The approvers do not come from the flow itself but from groups assigned to a company or department. This way, responsibilities can be changed without adjusting the flow.
What should you do when SharePoint lists become too large for an app built with Power Apps?
For non-delegable queries, a canvas app loads only records up to the data row limit (500 by default, 2,000 at most); from 5,000 items, the SharePoint list view threshold also applies. A proven approach is to load data in ranges via an indexed numeric column with parallel queries and local collections, supplemented by targeted filters so that only the data needed is loaded.
How is HR data kept up to date for approval processes?
The most reliable approach is an automatic, regular synchronization: users and managers from the directory service, organizational data from the HR system. If the data is held centrally, several apps and flows can use the same basis and derive roles from it.

08More case studies

More projects in detail.

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