If you're the person stuck herding cats to get promotional materials approved—think medical, legal, and regulatory reviews—you know the pain of endless email chains and version chaos. Automating this circus in Veeva Vault isn't magic, but it's doable. This guide is for marketing ops, compliance folks, or anyone tasked with making sure nothing sketchy slips through. If you're new to Veeva, it's a content management system that's basically standard issue in pharma and life sciences.
Let's cut the fluff. Here's how to actually set up automated approval workflows that work, save you time, and don't make your team hate you.
1. Understand What You Actually Need to Automate
Before you start clicking around in Vault, get clear on your real process. Automation only helps if you know what you're automating.
Ask yourself: - Who really needs to approve each piece? (Don’t add people “just in case.”) - What are the common bottlenecks? - Do you need different workflows for digital vs. print, or for different regions? - Are there legal or compliance steps that can’t be skipped or automated?
Pro tip:
Map your current process with sticky notes or a whiteboard. If a step seems pointless, it probably is. Cut it now—adding unneeded steps to automation just means you’ll automate frustration.
2. Get the Right Permissions (and Avoid IT Headaches)
You need to be a Vault Admin or have Workflow Admin privileges to set this up. If you don’t, talk to whoever controls Vault at your company. Don’t bother starting until you have the right access—it’ll just waste your time.
What you need: - Admin access to Vault (or at least Manage Workflow permissions) - A test user account (so you can safely try things out) - A sandbox environment, if possible (never test in production first)
Things to watch for: - Some companies lock down Vault tight. IT might drag their feet with permissions, so ask early and clearly. - If your company has a change control process, brace yourself for paperwork.
3. Set Up Document Types and Fields (Don’t Skip This)
Vault workflows run on document types and metadata. If your materials aren’t organized, automation will break or go to the wrong people.
Checklist: - Are your promotional materials a defined document type? (e.g., “Promotional Piece,” not just “Document”) - Do you have fields for things like “Material Type,” “Country,” “Brand,” and “Approval Status”? - Can you distinguish between versions, drafts, and final copies?
Why this matters:
Workflows trigger off this metadata. If your labels are a mess, so is your workflow. Clean up your document types and fields before automating anything.
4. Build (or Edit) Your Workflow in Vault
Here’s where you’ll actually create the workflow. This is the meat of the process, and where most people get tripped up by over-complicating things.
4.1 Start Simple: Use Vault's Workflow Wizard
- Go to Admin > Configuration > Workflows.
- Click Create (or copy an existing workflow if you want a starting point).
- Name your workflow something clear, like “Promotional Approval – US.”
4.2 Add Workflow Steps
For most promo material reviews, you'll want steps like: - Draft/Submission – User submits material for review. - MLR Review – Medical, Legal, and Regulatory review (can be parallel steps if your process allows). - Approval – Final signoff. - Distribution – (Optional) Mark as ready/distribute content.
Tips: - Assign steps to roles or user groups, not specific people (people leave, roles don’t). - Use parallel steps if reviewers can work at the same time—saves days. - Add clear instructions to each step; don’t assume everyone knows what to do.
4.3 Configure Entry and Exit Criteria
- Make sure documents can’t skip steps (unless absolutely necessary).
- Set required fields for submission (e.g., “Brand” must be filled out).
- Use entry criteria to catch incomplete submissions—nothing kills momentum like reviewers chasing missing info.
4.4 Set Notifications and Reminders
- Vault can email users when it’s their turn. Set up reminders for steps that often get stuck.
- Don’t overdo notifications—too many, and people just start ignoring them.
4.5 Handle Rejections and Changes
- Add a clear path for “Reject” or “Needs More Info.”
- Decide if rejected materials go back to the start or just to the previous step.
Honest take:
Don’t try to automate every possible scenario (like “What if the reviewer is out sick?”). Focus on the 90% use case and handle exceptions manually.
5. Map Users and Groups to Workflow Roles
If you assign steps to “Jane in Legal,” you’ll regret it the first time Jane’s on vacation. Use roles and groups instead.
- Set up Vault user groups for MLR reviewers, marketers, etc.
- Assign workflow steps to roles, not individuals.
- Keep group membership up to date—review quarterly if possible.
Pitfall:
If groups get stale, your workflow will grind to a halt. Make someone responsible for keeping this clean.
6. Test Your Workflow Before Going Live
This is non-negotiable. Test every path: approvals, rejections, missing info, and re-submissions.
How to test: - Use your sandbox or a test document. - Walk through as each role/user—don’t just click “approve” blindly. - Try to “break” the workflow (submit without required info, skip steps, etc.). - Check if notifications go to the right people and the document status updates as expected.
Pro tip:
Have someone not involved in setup test it—fresh eyes spot weirdness you’ll miss.
7. Roll Out and Train (Without PowerPoints)
Once you’re confident it works:
- Announce the new workflow. Keep it short: what’s different, what’s better, and who to bug with problems.
- Make a one-pager or quick video showing how to submit and approve materials.
- Avoid marathon training sessions. Most people just need to know: Where do I click? How do I know if something’s waiting for me?
Reality check:
No one reads the manual. Make help easy to find, and expect to answer the same questions a few times.
8. Track, Measure, and Iterate
Even the best workflow needs tweaking.
- Use Vault’s reporting to see where things get stuck. Are reviews taking forever? Are people skipping steps?
- Get feedback from users—what’s annoying, what’s working?
- Plan to revisit and update your workflow at least twice a year.
What to ignore:
Don’t chase every tiny complaint. Focus on blockers that slow down actual approvals.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Watch Out For
What works: - Using parallel review steps to save time. - Keeping workflow steps and instructions dead simple. - Assigning by group/role, not person.
What doesn’t: - Trying to automate every possible exception—you’ll create a monster no one understands. - Overloading users with email notifications. - Ignoring document types and metadata—this always bites you later.
Watch out for: - Permissions issues—test with real user accounts, not just admin. - “Shadow workflows” where teams bypass Vault with email—this means your process is too slow or confusing.
Keep It Simple, Then Improve
Automation in Veeva Vault isn’t rocket science, but it does reward patience and clarity. Start with a basic, working workflow. Get it into people’s hands, see what trips them up, and fix it. Don’t try to solve every problem upfront—just make approvals less painful, one step at a time.