Acquisition approval routing

Purpose

1. Automate the routing, approval, and documentation of art acquisitions across all stages in art museums, ensuring full compliance, visibility, record-keeping, and streamlined collaboration between curators, directors, registrars, and boards.

2. Automates cross-department communication, documentation trails, provision of digital approval chains, legal and provenance checks, and automated notification of status changes.

Trigger Conditions

1. Acquisition proposal submission in CMS or intranet portal.

2. New object entry into collection database triggers automation initiation.

3. External donor or vendor submits acquisition suggestion via webform or email.

4. Board meeting scheduled for acquisition review.

5. Status change or note added by curator or collections manager.

Platform Variants

1. Salesforce

• Feature/Setting: Flow Builder API — automate approval path and multi-level notifications for acquisition records.
  

2. Microsoft Power Automate

• Feature/Setting: Approvals connector — automate acquisition request routing to stakeholders.
  

3. Google Workspace

• Feature/Setting: Apps Script — automate Gmail/Sheets for proposal intake and document automation.
  

4. ServiceNow

• Feature/Setting: Flow Designer/Approvals — automate review and approval steps for new acquisitions.
  

5. Slack

• Feature/Setting: Workflow Builder — automate notifications/approvals upon acquisition form submission.
  

6. Asana

• Feature/Setting: Rules/Custom Fields — automate task assignation for each approval stage.
  

7. Monday.com

• Feature/Setting: Automations — automate board column changes and stakeholder notifications per acquisition step.
  

8. DocuSign

• Feature/Setting: eSignature/Envelope API — automate routing of legal documents for acquisition approval.
  

9. Adobe Sign

• Feature/Setting: Automated Agreements API — automate multi-party digital signature collection.
  

10. Box

• Feature/Setting: Box Relay — automate file/folder workflow for acquisition documents, trigger review steps.
  

11. Dropbox

• Feature/Setting: Dropbox Automations — automate acquisition folder creation and sharing for board review.
  

12. Zapier

• Feature/Setting: Multi-step Zaps — connect collection database to approval flows and message platforms.
  

13. Make (Integromat)

• Feature/Setting: Scenario modules — automate multi-system routing from intake to approval logs.
  

14. Jira

• Feature/Setting: Workflow Engine — automate acquisition as issue type with approval workflow.
  

15. Trello

• Feature/Setting: Butler Automation — automate list movement and team notifications for acquisition cards.
  

16. Smartsheet

• Feature/Setting: Automated Workflows — automate row approvals for new art pieces in acquisition sheets.
  

17. Airtable

• Feature/Setting: Automations — automate email alerts and record updates for acquisition pipeline.
  

18. Outlook 365

• Feature/Setting: Power Automate integration — automate acquisition request emails and approvals.
  

19. SharePoint

• Feature/Setting: Power Automate Flows — automate document movement and permission changes on approval.
  

20. Freshservice

• Feature/Setting: Workflow Automator — automate ticket-based approval routing for acquisition requests.
  

21. Notion

• Feature/Setting: Notion API + third-party automators — automate status updates and multi-step acquisition approvals.
  

22. HubSpot

• Feature/Setting: Workflows — automate pipeline stage moves and internal notifications for acquisitions.
  

23. BambooHR

• Feature/Setting: Approval Workflow — automate HR-based approval requests if acquisitions are tied to staff.
  

Benefits

1. Automates manual routing, reducing error and delay in art acquisition approval chains.

2. Ensures consistency and accountability by automatedly logging all review and approval actions.

3. Enables scalable, auditable automation for complex, multi-party acquisition processes.

4. Reduces turnaround time and automates compliance with institutional and legal policies.

5. Automates documentation and communication, lowering operational overhead.

6. Automates board, registrar, and curator engagement, improving collaboration and clarity.

7. Provides automated, searchable acquisition approval trails for audits and strategic reviews.