Lesson 3 of 5
Substitution and escalation
8 min
Approvers take vacations, fall ill and change jobs. A workflow that depends on one person will stop when that person stops. Substitution is how SAP S/4HANA keeps approvals moving: an approver names another user who may see and process their tasks for a period.
Planned and unplanned substitution
In My Inbox, the approver opens their user menu and chooses Manage My Substitutes (in some releases this is reached from the user profile on the launchpad). There are two kinds of rule.
| Planned substitution | Unplanned substitution | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | A known absence: vacation, training, a business trip | A standing backup for sudden absences such as illness |
| Dates | Start date and end date | No end date; stays until removed |
| When tasks flow | Automatically, during the period | Only after the substitute switches the rule on |
| Who acts | The approver sets it up before leaving | The approver sets it up in advance; the substitute activates it when needed, using Substitute For |
Substitution rules can usually be limited to a group of tasks rather than everything, for example only purchasing approvals. The substitute also needs the authorization to process the task: if Priya names a colleague who does not have the business role for supplier invoice approval, the task may reach that colleague but cannot be completed. Substitution does not grant authorizations. After setting a planned substitute, ask the substitute to open My Inbox on the first day and confirm they can see your tasks. A two-minute check prevents a two-week backlog.
- Jun 28Dan sets a planned substituteContoso's finance process owner names Grace for journal entry verification tasks, July 1–14
- Jul 1Rule becomes activeNew and open verification tasks for Dan become visible to Grace
- Jul 3Grace approvesThe log records Grace as the agent who processed the task, acting for Dan
- Jul 15Rule endsTasks route only to Dan again; Dan reviews what Grace decided in his absence
Forwarding, administration and escalation
These three are easy to confuse. Forwarding moves one task to someone else, once. Substitution gives another person access to all (or a group of) your tasks for a period, while they remain your tasks. Administrative forwarding is what a workflow administrator does when an approver has left the company and nobody set a substitute: they find the stuck work items and redirect them. In SAP GUI, administrators commonly use the workflow administration transactions such as SWIA; flexible workflow also has Fiori administration functions. The fix for a departed user is also to correct the recipient rule or team so new tasks stop going to them.
Escalation covers the approver who is present but slow. A workflow step can carry a deadline; when it passes, the task is flagged as overdue and, depending on the scenario and setup, reminders or notifications go out. What happens next is a business rule, not a system default: Contoso agreed that the purchasing manager's tasks older than three working days are reviewed by Grace's PMO each week, and the process owner decides whether to chase, forward or reassign. Whatever you choose, keep segregation of duties in mind. A substitute or escalation recipient should be someone the business would accept as an approver anyway. Naming a buyer as substitute for the purchasing manager could let the buyer approve their own purchase orders. Some scenarios can exclude the requester from approving, but do not assume your configuration does; test it. Auditors look at substitution and escalation because they are common ways around approval controls.
What would you do?
Luis, the cutover manager, will be unreachable during the go-live weekend. He approves cutover-related purchase requisitions and wants approvals to continue. What should he do?
- Substitution lets another user process your tasks; set it in Manage My Substitutes.
- Planned rules have dates and work automatically; unplanned rules must be activated by the substitute.
- Substitution does not grant authorizations; the substitute needs the right business role.
- Forwarding moves one task; administrators redirect stuck tasks from leavers and should fix the rule too.
- Deadlines flag overdue tasks; agree an escalation routine and keep segregation of duties intact.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which kind of substitution suits a two-week vacation?
2. An unplanned substitute cannot see the absent approver's tasks. What is the most likely reason?
3. A substitute sees a supplier invoice approval task but cannot complete it. Why?
4. An approver left the company and has 15 open tasks. Who usually redirects them?