Any workflow is designed to ensure that a business process is completed the way it was planned by moving from entry point to exit point without any issues. SAP Workflow works in the similar manner. It is designed as a tool to help automate business processes within an organization and ensure that all tasks assigned to different people are completed at the right time. It is possible to link SAP Workflow to Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes and therefore it is easy to use and even the non-technical people can relate to it.

The purpose of workflow in SAP is to deliver work items to employees through email. One business process may be divided into various tasks assigned to different people. In such a scenario, the workflow is quite useful. It can also be used to handle errors and exceptions within a business process. The users can be alerted whenever there is a change in documents involved. The system is kept up-to-date by an administrator or by automatically receiving commands when an action within the workflow is completed.

Before implementing SAP Workflow, it is important to distinguish between business processes that need automation and the ones that do not. Then there is a need to identify which employees or individuals are involved in a particular process and what their roles are.