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Take a guided tour of Collaboration Workflows and learn how to use this feature step-by-step.
Create workflows
To create a Collaboration Workflow in Akeneo PIM:
- Go to Workflows, then Settings.
- Click on Create workflow, then give a descriptive label and a code to your workflow.
You can create up to 100 workflows to reflect your processes.
To set up workflows, you need the appropriate roles' permissions to Manage Workflows Settings.
Also:
- For any assigned user: activate roles' permissions for View My Workflows to allow workflow steps and pending tasks' management.
- For any team lead or manager: activate roles' permissions for View Dashboard to allow workflow monitoring.
See Manage the interface and actions accesses > Rights on settings > Permissions on Workflows.
Discover inspirational use cases in the What are Collaboration Workflows? article.
To duplicate a workflow, hover over its name and click on the Duplicate workflow icon, or click the three-dot menu and select Duplicate workflow.
When you duplicate a workflow, it replicates all the settings and criteria from the original. To differentiate it from the original, give it a new label and a unique code. The duplicated workflow is disabled by default so you can adjust its product selection, step settings, or label translations before enabling it.
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Workflow entry: define the product triggers per workflow type
To configure when products enter a Collaboration Workflow, open the Workflow entry tab and select one of the workflow types:
- One-time initialization workflow — for product creation or initial product enrichment. Products enter the workflow as soon as it is enabled and flow through it only once to complete their first round of data. Enabling this type initiates and shares tasks with assignees, and makes all matching products enter the workflow. Once a product has completed the workflow sequence, it no longer flows through the same workflow.
- Continuous workflow — for ongoing enrichment, product data updates, enhancements, (re)inspection, validations, optimizations, or "always-on" governance. Once the workflow is enabled, products enter when the chosen updates occur and re-enter automatically whenever relevant changes are triggered. Enabling this type initiates and shares tasks with assignees only on the defined update events.
When you set up a Continuous workflow, you can choose which product updates trigger entry and re-entry:
- Any product update — on product save, including any attribute change, an update to product categorization or associations, or an asset collection update, as well as any rule execution or import.
- A specific attribute — when a specific attribute selected from the drop-down list is updated or deleted, the product automatically enters or re-enters the workflow.
A product can only re-enter the same workflow after it has completed the current sequence of steps and is no longer associated with any pending task. No memory or queue tracks products still progressing through the workflow. If a product receives an update that would otherwise cause it to re-enter the workflow, it won't do so until it has fully completed the current sequence and receives a subsequent update.
To learn more about workflow types and discover concrete use cases, see the What are Collaboration Workflows? article.
The Workflow entry tab showing the workflow type selector with One-time initialization workflow and Continuous workflow options, and the trigger configuration for continuous workflows.
After products complete a one-time workflow, you can convert an active one-time workflow into a continuous workflow. This allows the same workflow to automatically create and assign tasks for every future product update.
All attribute types are supported as update triggers in a continuous workflow.
You can add up to 50 attribute update triggers using an 'or' condition. Each channel- or locale-specific attribute update counts as one trigger.
Product selection: define the subset of products to include
From the Product Selection tab, select the attributes and system fields to filter the products included in your Collaboration Workflow. For more flexibility, you can use 'and' or 'or' conditions to combine your filters. For more advanced logic, you can also group conditions.
The Product Selection tab showing filter conditions combined with 'and'/'or' logic, a grouped condition block, and the product counter.
Product selection criteria
You can filter products using the following criteria:
- Status (applies only to Simple Products and Variants; does not apply to Product Models or Sub-Models, which means the common levels are excluded by default)
- Category
- Completeness
- Family
- Family variant
- Updated
- Identifier attribute
- Simple select attribute
- Multi-select attribute
- Text attribute
- Text area attribute
- Measurement attribute
- Yes/No attribute
- Number attribute
- Date attribute
- Reference entity single link attribute
- Reference entity multiple link attribute
- Asset collection attribute
- Price collection attribute
- Table attribute
- Created
- Entity type property
- Groups property
- File attribute
- Image attribute
- Identifier property (i.e. Main identifier)
- Parent property
- Customer Insights properties
Define your product selection with at least one criterion to avoid adding your entire catalog to the workflow. You can add up to 200 product selection criteria.
As you add filters, a counter displays the number of Simple Products, Variants, and Product Models that meet your criteria.
The counter reflects the number of products in your catalog that meet your selection criteria at the time you edit the filters, and at enablement.
Once the workflow is enabled, the counter is not dynamic — it does not reflect product tasks in progress or already completed in the workflow. If the Product Selection filters are updated, the counter updates to show the number of products that match the entire catalog. However, this count does not exclude products that have already gone through a One-time workflow, nor those currently in a One-time or Continuous workflow, so it is not comparable with the number of pending tasks in your active workflows.
If you edit the Product Selection criteria after the workflow has been enabled, the new filters apply only to new products entering the workflow (products created or updated that meet the filters).
If a product value changes (for example, status, family, category, or any other attribute value used as a filter) and no longer meets the selection criteria, the product stays in the workflow until it is completed.
When a selection includes variants, the displayed counter reflects only the number of variants in your catalog that match the applied filters. However, depending on the workflow step settings and assigned attributes, tasks may still be created at the Product Model level, even if those are not included in the variant count.
The counter can display up to 50,000 products but prioritizes the most recently updated ones. If there are more, they will not enter the workflow right away. Once a product has completed all the steps, newly created or updated products matching the selection criteria will enter the workflow.
You can preview the list of products corresponding to the counter by clicking the View selection button and then Save.
The Product Selection preview panel showing the list of matching products, accessible via the View selection button.
Once you enable the workflow, it automatically adds the corresponding pending tasks to the assignee's task lists and workflow dashboards. Sharing the task information with assignees may require a moment.
Tasks can be generated at the common level (Product Model or Sub-Model) even if no variants have been created or linked yet. However, if attributes are assigned, the Task progress counter won't display for them until variants are created and linked, because it is calculated on the SKUs (the variants). The sole exception is when using the Add to workflow mass action from the Product Grid, as mass editing ignores Product Models without any variants.
Additionally, if your filters return any Variants, tasks can also be assigned at their corresponding common level (Product Model or Sub-Model), based on attribute group definitions and the family variant structure. Any product entity entering the workflow allows task creation at its parent level. In that case, the number of product tasks generated can be higher than the Product Selection counter at enablement.
Product grid: add a subset of products to a workflow in mass
From the product grid, you can assign a specific set of products to a Collaboration Workflow using the Add to workflow bulk action. This lets you trigger targeted enrichment or validation actions based on filters or a saved view. You need the Manage Workflow Settings permission to perform this action.
This adds the specific set of products to the selected workflow (with Product Selection criteria unchanged), enabling assigned contributors to work on both sets within the same workflow tasks.
To create a workflow that only includes manually added products, configure the workflow's Product Selection criteria so no products are automatically counted (for example, set "Status = Enabled" & "Status is Disabled").
Adding products in mass from the product grid to a one-time workflow is only possible if those products have not yet been completed through this workflow.
Adding products in mass from the product grid to a continuous workflow is only possible if the products are not currently flowing through the step sequence and are available as pending tasks.
Product Models without variants cannot be added to a workflow through bulk actions.
When product models include variants, only the variants are counted in the confirmation modal, but both the variants and their Product Model (parent) are added to the workflow as pending tasks.
Step details: configure the workflow's steps
Outline your data enrichment process steps before configuring them in Akeneo PIM. Collaboration Workflow steps can be based on user expertise, department, specific areas of responsibility, or localization.
For smarter workflows, you can connect a step to existing rules so actions run automatically.
From the Step settings tab, create your workflow steps:
- Click on Create step.
- Add a descriptive label and a code.
- Choose the step Type: Enrichment or Review.
To learn more about step types and see examples of workflows that include at least one Review step, see the What are Collaboration Workflows? article.
Depending on your export rules, if you need to prevent a product from being activated, add a specific action in the final review step. You can assign the reviewer a dedicated task such as:
- setting the product's categorization,
- enabling its status attribute,
- or assigning a specific mandatory attribute like "Go Live" or "Go to Market."
These three methods can also be handled by automated rules if you set up Step Automation.
You can also use the REST API to retrieve the workflow status from the product or product model endpoint. This makes it possible to check whether a product is currently in a workflow or has completed its last review step, and determine whether it can be synchronized with your webshop or other channels.
To define the step's details:
- Add a short description to share instructions with the assignee.
- Add an allotted time in days for the assignee to complete this step for each product task.
Setting realistic timelines for each step helps prevent bottlenecks and ensures the timely delivery of enriched product data.
The allotted time is used to calculate a tentative due date for each task. This calculation is based on the product's creation or updated date when it enters the workflow, plus the allotted number of days (including weekends). It updates each step's status accordingly to raise alerts for urgent tasks (3 days remaining or less) or late tasks (1 day or more past due).
To define the assignees:
- Choose the User group.
- Select one or more assigned Users from the User group.
A User Group gathers users responsible for the same product scope and reflects your organization's structure. Each User Group is defined by three key concepts:
- Categories: which products a user can view and edit
- Locales: in which locales a user can view or edit product information
- Attribute Groups: which scope of product information a user can view or edit (for example: product specifications, marketing information, standards and specifications, studio, marketplace)
For each User Group, set a label that reflects these three components (for example: EN Women Copywriters, FR Pharmaceuticals Product Managers, DE Cosmetics Category Managers).
To learn more about User Groups, see What is a user group? and Build your user groups.
When assigning users, their catalog access rights are inherited from their User Group (Allowed to View/Edit/Own products).
The catalog access rights on Locales, Channels, and Attribute Groups depend on the selected User Group. The Allowed-to-View-products permission only allows the selected User Group and its users to review attribute values in the step, but not to complete or affect the attribute count.
If you chose a Category filter in the Product Selection, ensure the assignees in this workflow have the appropriate catalog access rights to see the products in the task list and complete the product enrichment.
If the admin changes any of the User Group's catalog access rights while the workflow is enabled, it may cause errors in the product selection, the task settings, and/or the full progress of the product in the workflow. See Set rights on your catalog if you need support.
To define a scope:
- Choose at least one Channel.
- Choose at least one enabled Locale.
To define attributes to enrich:
- Choose an Attribute Group.
- Select one or more Attributes from the Attribute Group.
- To assign required attributes, select the All required attributes option. You can also assign optional attributes by selecting them in the Attributes selector.
If you chose a Family filter in the product selection, ensure the assignee has the appropriate catalog access rights to enrich the selected attributes. See Set rights on your catalog if you need support.
The Step settings form showing the assignee User Group and user selector, the scope (Channel and Locale), and the Attribute Groups and attributes selector with the All required attributes option.
Per step, you are limited to:
- 1 User Group as assignee per step
- 30 Channels and 10 associated active Locales per step
- 10 Attribute Groups per step
You can add steps for categorization, image management, or association enrichment without assigning any Attribute Groups. In that case, provide a detailed description of the expected outcome, and avoid combining these steps with attribute assignment.
Once you set up your first step, continue creating the next ones by clicking the Back to step settings button. Each new step is added automatically after the previous one, and each step depends on the completion of the previous one.
To copy a step's settings, hover over the step name and click the Duplicate a step icon, or click the three-dot menu and select Duplicate step. Duplicating a step copies all configuration settings from the original. To distinguish it, create a new label and a unique code. You can also change the step type, for example, switch from Enrichment to Review, or vice versa. The duplicated step is automatically added to the end of the workflow. You can reorder steps using drag-and-drop. Steps can only be duplicated when the workflow is disabled.
An example workflow modelling diagram showing multiple Enrichment steps followed by a Review step.
You can add up to 20 steps per workflow to reflect your product enrichment process.
To reorder the steps in your workflow, drag and drop any step to its new position. This does not affect any step settings, criteria, or assignments. You can only reorder steps when the workflow is disabled.
To delete a step, hover over it and click on the Delete step icon. Deletion is only possible while the workflow is disabled.
To delete a workflow, either hover over it and click the Delete workflow icon, or edit the workflow and click the three-dot menu, then select Delete workflow. Deleting a workflow removes all steps and tasks from the assignees' dashboards.
Step automation
💡 Have a minute? Take a quick, interactive guided tour to discover how it works.
Take a guided tour of Step Automation in Collaboration Workflows and learn how to connect business rules to workflow steps.
To automate actions within your Collaboration Workflows, define and connect rules to your workflow steps.
To trigger business rules in workflows, begin by defining which rules should run automatically in the Rules section:
- In the Builder tab, define a rule's product selection that is consistent with your workflow's product selection (otherwise, it will not execute properly), or leave it empty, and define the actions you want to automate — such as generate AI content, set, concatenate, copy, or clear values.
- In the Execution tab, choose the Workflow-based type. Only Workflow-based type rules can be applied to workflows.
- In the Properties tab, enable the rule.
The Rules interface showing the Execution tab with the Workflow-based type selected.
From the Workflows interface, when creating or editing a step, you can Connect rules and choose when they will execute automatically — either when product tasks start or complete (and approve) this step. Rules run on product task events, shortly after a task enters or completes the step.
The step settings panel showing the Connect rules option.
The rule trigger selector showing the options to run the rule when a task starts or when a task completes the step.
If you have not set up any rules yet, click the Create rule button to go to the Rules interface.
You can control how many rules are connected to your workflow's steps in the Step Settings tab.
After a product is approved in a Review step, the Automated step can set the product's categorization or update its status attribute to enable automatic export.
You can create and connect rules on enabled workflows. They apply to any new product tasks entering or completing the step.
Removing Workflow-based rules: If you remove a Workflow-based business rule from the Rules interface, it may disrupt your workflow and cause an issue label in your step settings. Once removed, the rule no longer executes for any subsequent product tasks associated with that workflow, but the workflow task flow remains unbroken.
Execution behavior of Workflow-based rules: Workflow-based rules only execute on workflow task events — specifically when a product task enters or completes a workflow step. Clicking Execute rules individually or in bulk within the Rules interface has no effect for Workflow-based rules.
Special behavior at import: Import jobs that normally execute rules also ignore Workflow-based rules. Importing Workflow-based rules or products with a rule does not execute them, since they are intended for workflow step automation and only run based on workflow task events.
Process Tracker compatibility: The Process Tracker only supports Scheduled rules. As a result, Workflow-based rules are not displayed there.
Product History compatibility: Any product update generated by Workflow-based rules is visible in the product History section, with "system" as the author.
To learn more about rules management, see the Manage your rules article.
Enable a workflow
Once you have configured all necessary steps, you are ready to activate your Collaboration Workflow. Click the Enable Workflow button. The enablement date is visible near the Enable tag (only for workflows enabled after November 2025).
Once the workflow is enabled, any product that meets the selection criteria automatically begins at the first step and is assigned to the relevant assignee, visible in the user's My Workflows dashboard. Displaying product information to assignees may require a brief moment, especially for product variants.
After enabling the workflow:
- You can modify the product selection criteria. The updated filters apply only to newly created or updated products. Existing products in your catalog that meet the new criteria do not automatically enter the workflow unless they are updated or freshly created. Products already included in the workflow remain unaffected.
- You can modify the details of existing steps, but you cannot add, delete, or reorder them. Updates to step settings — such as labels, descriptions, allotted time, assigned Channels, Locales, or Attribute Groups — take effect immediately for assigned users, including any newly assigned users.
- Live workflows cannot be disabled. However, you can duplicate a live workflow to make changes, and delete the original if necessary.
On any product page, the Workflow log tab tracks the last 30 days of activities for entities part of workflows (products, product models, and variants). This view provides a detailed timeline of events to help you monitor the progress of your products as tasks flow through workflows, and troubleshoot any possible issues. It also indicates the author or source of the workflow event, and its details (workflow, step, step position).
The log records three main categories of workflow events:
- Workflow transitions — logs any product that started, completed, or re-entered a workflow.
- Task statuses — tracks when a task is started, completed, approved, or rejected. It also notes when a task is skipped because it is irrelevant (no assigned attribute in this step based on step settings, usually due to the product's Family).
- Rule execution — indicates when a Workflow-based rule is successfully executed, generates an error, is not found, or does not apply to the current context.
The Workflow log tab on a product page showing the last 30 days of workflow events, including workflow transitions, task status changes, and rule executions with their author and details.
📚 Discover inspirational use cases in the What are Collaboration Workflows? article.
You can also refer to the Collaboration Workflows: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) article.
Impact of permission settings on the product category
In Akeneo PIM, Collaboration Workflows enhance collaboration and streamline feedback loops while accelerating time-to-market. To ensure a seamless, integrated feedback loop in a unified workspace, the Collaboration Workflows feature does not allow the creation of Drafts and Proposals. Instead, it is designed to:
- Align user experience for Contributor roles: to ensure consistency with the product page, contributors with Edit permissions on a product category cannot directly input or save product values in the product record. To do so, users need Own permissions on the product category.
- Restrict direct edits for content accuracy: users can only view product data in read-only mode, similar to having View permissions on the product category. This restriction prevents unintended modifications.
- Support collaborative feedback for Reviewer roles: users cannot edit but can add comments to provide feedback while rejecting a product. This feedback loop supports collaboration without compromising the integrity of the product record.
How to monitor email notifications?
Collaboration Workflow pending tasks automatically trigger email notifications:
- Weekly email notification recap: Every Monday, all assignees receive an email summarizing their assigned pending tasks for active workflows.
- Daily rejection email reminder: Every day, all assignees with rejected tasks receive an email notification highlighting the actions required for ongoing workflows.
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A weekly email notification recap showing pending Collaboration Workflow tasks for the current week, with the unsubscribe link in the footer.
To unsubscribe from email notifications:
- From the email footer, click the unsubscribe link.
- Via the user interface, click your user icon in the top-right corner of the screen, navigate to My Account > Notifications, and set the option Weekly email notification on workflow pending tasks or Daily e-mail notification on workflow rejected tasks to No.
To monitor user accounts, you need the appropriate user roles' permissions to System > Edit users.
Integrating with third-party applications with the REST API and Event Platform
For teams seeking more advanced and real-time notification options, Akeneo PIM provides tools to create fully customized notification workflows. By leveraging the REST API and the Event Platform, you can design a notification system that fits your team's needs, through a custom integration or an iPaaS solution.
For teams seeking seamless integration or interactions with tasks managed in external systems — such as project management tools, ERPs, DAMs, design and artwork solutions, compliance tools, or BI/dashboard platforms — the Akeneo PIM REST API and Event Platform provide the necessary interfaces. These enable external applications to read and update workflow tasks, enabling cross-functional collaboration and powerful automation use cases.
📚 Discover more details and connectivity use cases in the What are Collaboration Workflows? article.
🤖 For specific questions about the Collaboration Workflows feature, use the Swifty AI chat. You can access it by clicking the purple rounded icon located in the bottom-left corner of your screen.
You can also refer to the Collaboration Workflows: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) article.