A network can be created for a configurable product from the sales order using assembly processing. The characteristic value assignment is passed directly from the configurable material to the network, and the relevant activities, activity elements, components, PRTs, etc. are selected.

If the configuration of the material, which has an assembly order involving a network, is later changed, a change comparison is started for the network. Objects are added to or deleted from the network. The system tries to make this change comparison automatically. If conflicts arise, the network receives the Manual adjustment necessary status and the change steps have to be processed manually.

The changes to the configuration are made in Sales by the responsible employee. However, an employee in project planning makes the changes to the network. To facilitate communication between the two departments and to avoid long processing times, a workflow template has been created to automate this business process.

The triggering event for this workflow is a conflict during a change comparison, which means that that the Manual adjustment necessary status is set. The flow of the workflow template is as follows:

A dispatcher determines which employee in project planning should make the change comparison. He/she makes this decision after seeing the network. The dispatcher is determined via a role, that evaluates the network data and the structure of the organization. The dispatcher can then create a text that is sent to the chosen employee. The employee sees this text and can then start processing the network immediately. The workflow finishes when the change comparison is concluded successfully.