I am in the process of configuration the purchase requisition workflow.
My “approval” step is using the organizational hierarchy and approval limits assigned to each person in the hierarchy - this is all working well.
I am now trying to set up an escalation which I thought would be quite simple: If an approver did not approve within 2 days (for example) - I want the workflow to escalate the next level above them in the hierarchy.
so on the approval step, I turn on the “Use Escalation Path”, and I assume the “Assignment Type” should be “Hierarchy”?
On the “hierarchy selection” what should I select?
You’re on the right track. In Finance & Operations, escalation is configured on the same approval step that uses the organizational hierarchy.
For Purchase Requisition workflows, what usually works is:
Enable the use of the escalation path on the approval step
Set Escalate after (for example, 2 days)
Choose the Assignment type as Hierarchy
In Hierarchy selection, select the same Position hierarchy that you are using for approval
Escalation moves the approval one level up in the same hierarchy. If the current approver does not take action within the defined time, the workflow looks for the parent position and assigns it to the next level above.
If escalation does not trigger, check that:
The approver’s position has a parent in the hierarchy
The hierarchy is assigned to the worker’s position
Workflow batch jobs are running
Keeping approval and escalation on the same position hierarchy usually gives the expected result.
@Musty no solution as of yet, and I already have the same issue with a new project…
Personally I find it a bit frustrating how the D365 Workflow engine cannot satisfy out of the box some very straight forward and common business use cases.
Hierarchy escalation only works if moving up the hierarchy results in a different worker. If the parent position is assigned to the same person (or is vacant), the workflow will reassign it to the same approver.
Things to check:
The approver is not assigned to both the current and the parent position
The parent position is active and assigned to a different worker
If you need escalation to always go to another person, hierarchy escalation alone won’t guarantee that. Common approaches are:
Add a second approval step with a time-based condition and assign it to a higher role or position
My hierarchy is set up that every position is set to another person.
Yet, when I follow your instruction for escalation, and the workflow escalates, it goes to the same user.
which makes sense - I select the same hierarchy as originally, with the same approval levels. to the workflow gets assigned to the same person on the hierarchy tree as before the escalation.
Yes, I agree with you. What you’re seeing makes sense based on standard D365 F&O behavior.
Out of the box, escalation re-evaluates the same approval step using the same hierarchy and approval logic. It doesn’t automatically move to the next level above the current approver, so it can resolve back to the same user. This can also vary depending on system setup, integrations, or customizations.
In most cases, teams handle this by adding a separate time-based approval step or assigning escalation to a specific role or position. Otherwise, some customization is required.
I may not be deep on the technical side, but if you want, we can review your setup together. Happy to arrange a quick call with our D365 F&O techno-functional consultant if that helps.