Case study · Approval processes with Camunda and DMN

Panasonic Europe B.V.Scalable approval processes with Camunda and DMN

1 BPMN model

generic for the entire class of approval processes

100+

DMN tables for variants and rule sets

6,000+

process variants

200,000+

process instances in 2024

Client

Panasonic Europe B.V.
Project: approval processes with Camunda and DMN
Industry: Electronics
Headquarters: Hamburg

Your contact

Rouven Homann

Board Member, cimt Group

Consulting focus

Starting point

Growing complexity in approval processes

Many companies know the situation: first, a simple approval process is digitalised. Then come variants for countries, product areas and amount thresholds. The rules become more complex, and at some point the underlying BPMN model could wallpaper an entire wall. Later still, every use case gets its own model: all similar, all business-critical, all with compliance requirements.

This case study shows how Panasonic Europe keeps hundreds of approval processes with Camunda and DMN manageable.

The key question

Modellable, auditable and changeable – even with hundreds of variants

Philipp Jahn (Senior Manager Workflow, Web and PIM Consulting at Panasonic Europe B.V.) clearly outlined the target picture:

On top of that come the challenges of a matrix organisation: different product categories, countries, regions and policies, plus a historically grown system landscape. Classic “one BPMN model per process” approaches quickly reach their limits here – the number of models explodes, logic is duplicated, and changes become expensive.

Solution

Approval processes with Camunda: the DMN-first approach

Panasonic Europe uses Camunda for workflow automation – but reverses the usual relationship between BPMN and DMN: a single generic BPMN model represents the universal phases of an approval process. The rules that determine the concrete flow of the approval chain are held in DMN decision tables. Inputs include request type, amount class, product category or organisational unit; outputs are the workflow steps to be performed. Typical constellations:

Low amounts

Approval by line managers

Medium amounts

Line plus division management

High amounts

Additionally finance or management

Which inputs lead to which steps and roles is easy for users to understand – and at the same time machine-readable and directly executable in Camunda. On this basis, more than 200,000 instances per year now run on an architecture specifically designed for the “mass production” of new workflows.

Architecture

Getting complexity under control

Nested DMN tables

Upstream DMNs decide on responsibilities by organisational unit, product category or region; a downstream table combines them into the final approval chain. Changes stay local.

Task types based on RACI

Following the RACI principle, the tables also define the task types: approval, consult, notification and execute. The engine creates the matching user task.

ERP integration

System tasks connect ERP systems such as SAP R/3 and SAP S/4HANA – for example to store approved master data directly in the responsible system.

1–2 person-days per variant

Based on the existing building blocks, a new process variant takes only about 1–2 person-days; deployments happen weekly.

“Working with cimt gives me great satisfaction – reliable, flexible and always of outstanding quality.”

Philipp Jahn, Senior Manager Workflow, Web and PIM Consulting, Panasonic Europe B.V.

Lessons learned

What approval processes with Camunda and DMN deliver

Scalability: the number of BPMN models stays constant while the variants grow
Business transparency: decision tables are easy for business departments to read; roles, thresholds and dependencies are documented explicitly
Fast changes: adjustments are made mostly in DMN while the generic process remains stable – reducing development and testing effort
Compliance and auditability: decisions are modelled and versioned centrally; essentially, one BPMN model plus structured DMN models need to be validated

Team

The team and cimt’s role

Panasonic Europe runs the solution with an internal Kotlin development team. cimt adds methodological and technical expertise – as a Camunda Platinum Partner with strong project experience:

A domain expert is responsible for the methodological design of the DMN approach and supports new workflow projects as business analyst.
A certified Camunda developer supports the internal team on implementation and integration.

Conclusion

Scalable today – and in a few years’ time

Panasonic Europe benefits above all from high scalability and fast adaptability: new variants are created without changes to the BPMN model and implemented within one to two days. At the same time, compliance and transparency increase because all decision rules are stored centrally in DMN, versioned and traceable at any time – reducing risks and making audits much easier.

The approach is particularly suitable for organisations that run many structurally similar but differently detailed approval processes.

Next step

Your first approval process with Camunda

With the Process Automation Starter Kit, we automate a real process in your organisation together – modelled with BPMN and DMN, implemented on your technology stack.

References