Approval Workflow Design: Strategic Partnership & Contract Signing

Fictitious Company: Arca-Sky Aviation (Next-gen Drone Infrastructure)

Process Name: Tier 1 Partnership Approval

Current Issues: Approvals are currently siloed in email threads; lack of clarity on who has the final “Go/No-Go” authority for financial commitments.

1. Workflow Diagram

[Drafting] -> [Level 1: Compliance Review] -> [Level 2: Strategic Alignment] -> [Final Level: Executive Sign-off] -> [Execution]
     |                  |                            |                              |
     └---< [Rejected] <-┴-----------< [Rejected] <---┴-------------< [Rejected] <---┘

2. Step-by-Step Process

• Step 1: Submission: The Partnership Manager submits the “Partnership Intent Form” via the Arca-Vault portal, attaching the draft MoU and a cost-benefit analysis.
• Step 2: Compliance & Legal (L1): Legal team reviews the contract for liability risks and regulatory alignment with Singapore drone laws.
• Step 3: Business Unit Head (L2): The Department Head reviews the partnership for operational feasibility and resource allocation.
• Step 4: Executive Committee (Final): For contracts exceeding $100k or involving multi-year commitments, the CEO or CFO provides final digital authorization.
• Step 5: Execution: Once all digital stamps are secured, the system automatically notifies the Legal team to release the final document for e-signature.

3. Roles and Responsibilities

4. Decision Rules

• Rule A (Automatic Pass): If the contract value is <$10k and uses the "Standard Arca-Template" with no modifications, Level 1 and Level 2 are bypassed directly to the BU Head.
• Rule B (Conditional Rejection): If “Liability” is uncapped or “Exclusivity” is requested, Legal (L1) must trigger a mandatory negotiation phase before proceeding to L2.
• Rule C (Unanimous): All “Strategic Tier” partners require 100% approval from all three levels; no abstentions allowed.

5. Escalation Paths

• Timeout Escalation: If an L1 or L2 approver does not respond within their SLA, the request is automatically escalated to their direct supervisor and flagged as “Delayed” in the dashboard.
• Dispute Resolution: If the BU Head approves but Legal rejects, a 15-minute “Sync Meeting” is automatically scheduled between the two stakeholders to resolve the blocker.

6. Risks and Bottlenecks

• The “Executive Gate” Risk: The CEO/CFO stage is the most likely bottleneck. Mitigation: Implementation of a “Delegated Authority” rule where the COO can sign off on the CEO’s behalf for deals under $250k.
• Incomplete Submissions: Partnership Managers often forget the “Cost-Benefit” attachment, causing Legal to reject immediately. Mitigation: Mandatory form fields in the Arca-Vault portal that prevent submission until all files are uploaded.