Blueprint enhancements - Parallel and multiple transitions, and more

Last modified on Sep 4, 2023: All Zoho CRM users can now access these enhancements. Initially, these features were available only on an early access basis and by request. However, as of August 2, 2023, they have been made available to all users in all DCs.

Dear all,

Zoho CRM's Blueprints provide structure to business processes by mandating a version of it in your CRM and guiding your records through. It necessitates steps to be taken and serves as a template sales process for a salesperson. So far, Blueprint has allowed us to draw up different stages of a business process through different states and connect it through certain triggers that allow the transition of a record.

While it’s not just that most business processes aren’t set in stone, it’s that different stages in business processes vary based on salespeople/users involved, type of customer, and even the product or service we sell. It’s not always the case that a record needs to move directly downstream without having to meander through multiple transitions before it needs to get to the next state.

Parallel and multiple transitions provide the flexibility required for a record to move to its next state.

Let’s take a business example:

An SMB in the Real Estate sector with 10-15 Real Estate agents, connecting buyers and sellers, representing rental houses, houses for lease etc. The typical business process involves bringing in leads from various sources, validating them, and trying to close deals. There’s an inspection followed by a negotiation process once the buyer finds a property they like, document verification, contracts that are drawn up, loan processes and so on.

We’ve set up a blueprint in place to ensure that the record moves freely through these different steps. Our blueprint includes relevant stages with transitions that enable the movement of the record to its next state. However, we’ve run into a few challenges between a few states where just one transition is not going to cut it.

Parallel Transitions:

Before our deal goes into the negotiation phase, the property needs to be thoroughly inspected. So, in our Blueprint, the record moves from the "Under inspection" state to the "Inspection completed" state. The inspection itself isn't a single process but includes four different checks: Mold inspection, Water Damage check, Structural damage, and Pest Inspection. Each of these processes will need to happen between these two states.

Parallel transitions allow us to add all four of these as individual transitions that the record needs to go through before it reaches the "Inspection completed" state.

Multiple transitions:

As mentioned earlier, the real estate agency not only handles property sales but also rentals and leases. So when it comes to the contract signing part of the business process, we have three different options. Regardless of what contract is signed, however, the state the record reaches next is the same, "Contract Signed."

Multiple transitions allow the sale contract signed, Rental contract signed, and Lease contract signed to each be added as transitions, allowing any one of them to be chosen for the record to move to its "Contract Signed" state.

Combination and Sub-transitions:

The documentation verification process is pretty overspecified in the Real Estate sector. Once the record lands on the "Legal Verified" state, there's a lot of paperwork involved before it gets to the "Loan processing" state. One major section is collateral assessment, which is pretty straightforward, and the other is document verification.

Further, under document verification, we have Sale deed verification, Building plan approval, and Possession letter verification.

The new enhancements in Blueprint not only let us create two transitions between these two states, i.e.: "Collateral assessment" and "Document verification", but allows for sub-transitions within the "Document verification" transition. So we'd be able to add "Sale deed verification", "Building plan approval", and "Possession letter verification", as individuals under the parent-transition, "Document verification".

Reorder transitions:

For any parallel or multiple transitions, you don't need to go through the checks in a specific order. These checks can happen in whichever order for each record. The current linear blueprint restricts you from offering this flexibility, which is what parallel transition solves. It helps you have simultaneous or "parallel" transitions side-by-side giving you the flexibility you need.

We'd love for you all to try out Parallel and Multiple transitions in your Blueprint processes and let us know how it's working for you.

Resources: Parallel and Multiple transitions | Zoho CRM Help

Thank you!

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