Automate the busywork. Keep people for the decisions.
Every business has processes that live in email, spreadsheets and phone calls: approvals that wait for someone to come back from leave, invoices typed in by hand, supplier details checked one by one. We automate them around SAP Cloud ERP with SAP's own tools, so the work flows, people only see what needs their judgement, and every step is recorded.
About the names. SAP Build Process Automation is part of SAP Build. SAP is bringing its process, app and agent tools together in Joule Studio on the SAP Business AI Platform, so you'll see both names for a while. Everything on this page carries over.
Use the simplest tool that does the job.
"Automation" covers very different things, from a two-step approval to an AI agent that reads documents and makes a recommendation. SAP gives you a tool for each. Some come with SAP Cloud ERP; others are SAP Business AI Platform services. We start with what you already have.
| Tool | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Flexible workflow Included in SAP Cloud ERP | Approvals inside SAP Cloud ERP, configured from SAP templates with conditions such as amount, plant or material group. Tasks land in the approver's My Inbox, on the web or on the mobile app. | Purchase orders over LKR 5M go to the plant manager, over LKR 25M to the CFO. |
| Situation handling Included in SAP Cloud ERP | Alerts the right person when something needs attention, such as a contract about to expire or a delivery running late, with the context to act. | The buyer is told 30 days before a supplier contract expires. |
| Process automation SAP Build | Processes that cross systems or need their own forms, rules and steps. Connects to SAP Cloud ERP through released APIs and to other systems through SAP Integration Suite. | Supplier onboarding from a web form to a checked, approved supplier record in SAP. |
| Documents and bots SAP Build | Reads data from invoices and forms, and runs software robots on screens that have no API. | Supplier invoices in a shared mailbox, read and posted without retyping. |
| AI agents Joule Studio | Handles steps that need judgement, such as reading an email, comparing documents or proposing an action, inside rules you set and with a person approving where it matters. | An agent checks a quotation against the contract price and explains any gap to the buyer. |
Most approvals need configuration, not a project.
SAP Cloud ERP ships with flexible workflows for purchase requisitions, purchase orders, supplier invoices, journal entries, sales documents, master data changes and more. A key user sets the steps and conditions in an SAP Fiori app, with no code and no extra licence.
Approvers find everything in My Inbox, see the document behind each task, and approve on their phone. Responsibility management decides who the approver is, so when a manager leaves, you change one assignment and every workflow follows.
Draw the process. SAP Build runs it.
For processes beyond SAP Cloud ERP's own workflows, we build them in SAP Build's visual editor. Each process is made of a few building blocks, and Joule can draft a process, a form or a rule from a plain-language description, which we then review and refine.
Forms
Start a process or collect input, on the web or on a phone, including for people outside your company.
Decisions
Business rules in readable tables that the business can maintain, such as who approves what.
Actions
Read and write SAP Cloud ERP data through released APIs, and reach other systems through Integration Suite.
Visibility
Every instance is tracked, so you can see where work waits and how long each step takes.
Stop retyping what's already on paper.
Supplier invoices, delivery notes, bank letters and customs documents arrive as PDFs and scans in a dozen layouts. SAP's document extraction reads the fields, shows how confident it is about each one, and sends only the uncertain ones to a person.
It works in two ways. With templates, it learns a layout from samples, which suits documents you receive often. With the large language model option, it reads documents it has never seen, without a template, and is charged by use.
For Sri Lankan invoices we check what matters locally: the supplier's TIN and VAT number against your supplier records, VAT at the current rate, and totals in LKR or the invoice currency.
Date 21.10.2026
Bots for the screens that have no API.
Some systems can only be used through their screens: an old payroll package, a supplier portal, a bank's website. A bot repeats the clicks and keystrokes a person would make, reliably, at any hour. SAP Build includes a recorder to capture the steps and an editor to make them robust.
Runs with a person
Started by a user on their own computer, for a task they'd otherwise do by hand. The person stays in control and reviews the result.
- Download and file a day's bank statements
- Copy a list of orders from a customer portal
- Prepare a monthly report pack
Runs on its own
Runs on a schedule or when an event happens, on a dedicated machine, and reports exceptions to a person.
- Post a night's legacy payroll results into SAP
- Update delivery status from a 3PL's portal
- Reconcile a data extract every morning
Our rule: API first, bot second. A bot depends on screens staying the same, so a redesigned web page can stop it. Where SAP or the other system offers an API, we use the API. We use bots for what's left, and we monitor every bot so a failure is seen the same day. If you already use UiPath, SAP offers a UiPath add-on for SAP Build.
Rules where you can. Judgement where you must.
Most of a process should follow clear rules, because rules are predictable and easy to audit. AI agents help with the steps that rules can't describe well, like reading a free-text email or weighing up a quotation. SAP calls the three patterns deterministic, agentic and hybrid workflows.
Fixed steps
Same path every time. Approvals, postings, notifications. Most of what we automate.
Goal, not steps
An agent is given a goal and tools, and decides the steps. Suits research and exceptions, with a person approving the result.
Rules with an agent step
A fixed process with one AI step inside it, such as reading an email and proposing the next action. Usually the best fit.
An example from purchasing
A purchase order comes in above the agreed contract price. Instead of a bare approval task, the approver asks Joule why. The agent compares the order with the contract and recent orders, explains the gap, and suggests what to do. The approver still decides.
Agents run with the permissions of the person using them, and every action is logged. Developers can build agents in Joule Studio, and from SAP TechEd 2026 they can also design and run n8n workflows there.
Six processes we're often asked to automate.
The best first automation is frequent, rule-based and annoying for the people who do it today. These come up in almost every Sri Lankan company we work with.
Supplier onboarding
A web form for the supplier, documents read automatically, TIN, VAT and bank details checked, then approved and created in SAP.
Supplier invoice intake
Invoices from a shared mailbox are read, matched to the purchase order and goods receipt, and posted. Only exceptions reach a person.
Credit limit changes
Sales requests a higher limit, the process collects payment history and exposure from SAP, and finance approves with the facts in front of them.
Capex requests
A request with a business case, routed by amount and site to the right approvers, then created as an investment order in SAP when approved.
Export documents
Commercial invoice, packing list and certificate requests prepared from the SAP delivery, checked and filed for each shipment.
Master data requests
New materials, customers or price changes requested in one form, checked against rules, approved and created in SAP with a full trail.
Measure first, automate second, measure again.
Automating a bad process just makes it fail faster. We look at how the work really happens, fix what should be fixed, and then automate.
Map the process
We sit with the people who do the work, count volumes and wait times, and find where errors and delays come from.
You get: a ranked list of automation candidates with expected savings.
Pick the tool
For each candidate, the simplest tool: standard configuration, flexible workflow, SAP Build, a bot or an agent.
You get: a design, a licence view and a plan you can approve.
Build and test
Built in short cycles with the people who'll use it, tested with real documents and real exceptions.
You get: a working automation, with tests and documentation.
Run and improve
We watch the first weeks closely, then compare volumes, cycle times and error rates with the starting point.
You get: before-and-after numbers, and the next candidates.
Automations you can trust and audit.
An automation acts on your behalf, often on money. It needs the same controls as a person in the same role, and someone who owns it.
Automation register
Every process, bot and agent, with its owner, purpose and the systems it touches.
Same controls as people
Technical users with only the permissions they need, and segregation of duties kept intact.
A person for exceptions
Clear queues for what the automation can't handle, so nothing gets stuck unseen.
Monitoring and alerts
Failures and long waits reported the same day, with a named person to act.
Tested before upgrades
Automations included in the regression tests that run before each SAP Cloud ERP upgrade.
Handover
Your team can change rules and approvers themselves, without calling us.
See it from SAP.
Videos from SAP’s official YouTube channels on process automation and building agents.
Published by SAP on its official YouTube channels.
© 2026 Mawkish Technologies. This guide, its diagrams and illustrations are protected by copyright. You’re welcome to learn from it and to quote it with credit and a link. Reproducing it, by hand or through AI, and publishing it as your own is not allowed. Read our copyright notice
Straight answers.
Is process automation included in SAP Cloud ERP?
Flexible workflows, My Inbox and situation handling are included. SAP Build Process Automation, document extraction and AI agents are SAP Business AI Platform services, subscribed separately and sized by use. We check what you already own before proposing anything new.
Do we need UiPath or another RPA tool?
No. SAP Build has its own bots. If you already use UiPath, SAP offers an add-on that lets you use UiPath capabilities with SAP Build, so you can keep that investment.
Will automations break when SAP upgrades?
Processes that use SAP's released APIs keep working through upgrades. Bots that use screens are more fragile, which is why we prefer APIs and include every automation in the tests that run before each upgrade.
Will an AI agent approve payments on its own?
Only if you decide it should, and only within limits you set. In practice, agents prepare, check and recommend, and a person approves anything that moves money or changes a commitment.
How quickly can we see a result?
A flexible workflow can be live in days. A first SAP Build process, such as supplier onboarding, usually takes a few weeks from design to go-live. We agree the scope and timeline with you after discovery.
Can our own team maintain the automations?
Yes. Business rules, approvers and forms are designed so key users can change them. We train your team and stay available for the bigger changes.
Show us the process everyone complains about.
In one workshop, we map it with your team, measure what it costs today, and show you which tool would automate it and what it would take.
- What's included in SAP Cloud ERP already
- Workflow, documents, bots or agents
- Expected savings, in hours and errors
- SAP Build services and sizing
- Controls, ownership and support
SAP, SAP Build, Joule and SAP Cloud ERP are trademarks of SAP SE. UiPath is a trademark of UiPath Inc. Screens shown are illustrations.
Our Gorcroft Map is the name we give to how we handle Process Automation with SAP Build: one accountable partner, from the first meeting to long after go-live.