The Droplet Guide to Designing an ERP Workflow (That People Won't Hate)

Let's be honest. The term "ERP Workflow" sounds like something you'd be forced to learn about in a corporate hostage situation. It conjures images of clunky, soul-crushing software and processes so rigid they make a DMV line look like a dance party. And often, that's exactly what you get.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

An ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) workflow, at its core, is just the digital plumbing of your business. It connects your sales, finance, inventory, and HR into one (theoretically) seamless system. The problem is, most companies just buy the expensive software and hope for the best, without actually designing the workflow itself. That's a recipe for disaster.

This isn't a guide to buying software. We're designing the *process*.

The 5-Day ERP Workflow Design Sprint

Day 1: The Audit (Map Your Current, Broken State)

Before you can build the future, you have to be brutally honest about the present. Get your team in a room with a whiteboard (or a virtual one). Your only job today is to map out a single, critical process as it exists *right now*. A great one to start with is the "order-to-cash" cycle.

• Step 1: Trace the journey of a single customer order. What happens when it comes in? Who touches it? What systems are involved?
• Step 2: Use sticky notes to mark every single point of friction. Where does data get manually re-entered? Where do approvals get stuck in an email black hole? Where do things just plain break?
• Step 3: Be honest. Your current process is probably a mess. That's okay. The goal of today is to create a "pain map." You need to feel the pain before you can fix it. This is the first step in any real digital transformation journey.

Day 2: The Dream (Define Your Perfect Future State)

Now for the fun part. Forget the limitations of your current software. If you could wave a magic wand, what would the perfect workflow look like? For the same "order-to-cash" process, ask your team:

• "In a perfect world, what happens the second a customer clicks 'buy'?"
• "How does the warehouse know what to pick, instantly?"
• "How is the invoice generated and sent without a human touching it?"

Your goal today is to create a "dream map." A simple, clean flowchart that shows the ideal state. Don't worry about the "how" yet. Just focus on the "what." This is where you can draw inspiration from a wide range of real-world workflow automation examples.

Day 3: The Toolkit (Choose Your Modules & Tools)

Now, we connect the dream to reality. An ERP isn't one single thing; it's a collection of modules. Based on your dream map, what jobs do you need your software to do?

• Do you need a **CRM** module to manage customer data?
• Do you need an **Inventory Management** module to track stock?
• Do you need a **Financial Accounting** module for your general ledger?
• Do you need a **Procurement** module to handle your purchase order system?

This is also where you realize that a single ERP might not be the answer. Maybe the best solution is a "composable" ERP—a collection of best-in-class tools that talk to each other. Maybe your CRM should be HubSpot, your accounting should be QuickBooks, and your custom intake should be a flexible tool like Droplet.

Day 4: The Blueprint (Design the Actual Flow)

This is the most critical day. You're going to take your "dream map" from Day 2 and turn it into a detailed blueprint using the tools you identified on Day 3. For every step in your flowchart, you need to define the specifics:

• The Trigger: What specific event kicks off this step? (e.g., "Invoice marked as 'Paid' in QuickBooks").
• The Action: What happens next? (e.g., "Change order status to 'Ready for Fulfillment' in the inventory system").
• The Data: What information needs to pass between the systems?
• The Human: Who gets notified, and who is responsible if something breaks?

You should end the day with a detailed, step-by-step document that a developer or an implementation partner could actually use to build your workflow.

Day 5: The Launch (Implementation & Adoption)

The best workflow in the world is useless if nobody uses it. Your launch plan is just as important as the design itself.

• Start Small: Pick one department or one product line. Roll out the new workflow to them first. Get feedback, fix the bugs, and create a success story.
• Train Champions: Find one person on each team who is excited about the new system. Train them first, and make them the go-to expert for their peers.
• Measure Everything: Track the key metrics you identified on Day 1. Show your team a chart that says, "We used to spend 20 hours a week on this; now we spend 2." Data is how you win hearts and minds.

The Bottom Line: It's About the Process, Not the Platform

Buying a big, expensive ERP system without first designing your workflow is like building a house without a blueprint. It will be expensive, painful, and it probably won't work. The software doesn't fix a broken process; it just makes a broken process run faster.

Take the time to go through this sprint. Be honest about your problems. Be creative in your solutions. The result will be a workflow that your team doesn't just tolerate, but one they actually love to use.

Ready to build the flexible, custom workflows that can act as the glue for your composable ERP? Our team can show you how Droplet can automate your unique processes, from client intake to purchase approvals, and connect to the tools you already use. Schedule your no-pressure tour today!