Salesforce Flow Orchestrator – What It Is, Capabilities and Use Cases

Imagine a complex business process that involves multiple departments, data points, and approvals. While Salesforce Flows excels at automating individual tasks, what if you need to orchestrate a multi-act play where each flow seamlessly transitions into the next?  Salesforce Flow Orchestrator is a powerful tool that empowers you to do just that.

What is Flow Orchestrator?

Flow Orchestrator acts as the conductor for your Salesforce automation symphony. It allows you to connect multiple flows, treating them as stages within a larger orchestration. These flows can interact with each other, exchange data, and guide users through a multi-step process.

When Should You Use Flow Orchestrator?

While Flows are great for single-object automations, Flow Orchestrator shines when dealing with complex scenarios. Here are some key situations where Flow Orchestrator proves its value:

• • Multi-Stage Approvals: Orchestrate a multi-level approval process involving different teams and decision criteria. Route requests based on dynamic factors and ensure seamless transitions between approval stages.
  • Data-Driven Processes: Automate workflows that require data manipulation across multiple objects. Flow Orchestrator facilitates data exchange between flows, ensuring accurate and consistent information throughout the process.
  • User-Centric Workflows: Design user-friendly workflows with clear handoffs between stages. This can involve prompting users for input, collecting data, and assigning tasks based on specific conditions.
  • External System Integrations: Integrate with external systems seamlessly within your workflow. Flow Orchestrator allows flows to call external APIs and leverage data from other applications.

Key Capabilities

Triggering Orchestrations

Flow Orchestrator offers two primary triggering mechanisms:

• Record-Triggered: An orchestration automatically launches in response to record creation or updates within a specific Salesforce object. (e.g., An opportunity creation triggers an orchestration that includes approval processes, price calculations, and task assignments)
• Auto-Launched (Beta): Initiate orchestrations without relying on record triggers. This can be useful for scheduled tasks or processes triggered by external events. (e.g., An orchestration runs daily to automatically generate reports or synchronize data with an external system)

Examples of Use Cases

• Automated Approval Workflows: Orchestrate a multi-stage approval process involving different teams and decision criteria.
• Order Fulfillment: Automate the order fulfillment process, including tasks like inventory checks, shipping updates, and customer communication.
• New Hire Onboarding: Streamline the onboarding process for new hires by orchestrating tasks such as account creation, role assignments, and training completion tracking.

Also Read – How To Use Record-Triggered Flows To Automate Tasks?

Flow Orchestrator shines in tackling complex business processes that involve multiple users, data points, and systems. Here are some specific examples that showcase the power and versatility of this tool:

1. Automated Approval Workflows 

Imagine a scenario where a discount request needs approval. Flow Orchestrator can orchestrate a multi-stage process:

• The initial flow captures the request details and analyzes the discount amount.
• Based on the amount, the orchestration can dynamically route the request to the appropriate approval team (e.g., manager for small discounts, executive team for larger discounts).
• Each team has a dedicated approval flow, ensuring the request reaches the relevant decision-makers.
• The orchestration tracks the entire process, providing real-time visibility and notifying stakeholders of approvals or rejections.

2. New Hire Onboarding

Streamline the onboarding process for new hires by tailoring it to their specific role or department. Flow Orchestrator can:

• Trigger upon new hire record creation.
• Utilize a conditional flow to determine the appropriate onboarding track based on the new hire’s role (e.g., sales vs. marketing).
• Each track can be a separate flow, ensuring new hires receive role-specific tasks, training materials, and access permissions.
• The orchestration can automate tasks like account creation, permission assignment, and welcome email delivery.

3. Quote Generation 

Flow Orchestrator can automate the quote generation process, integrating with external systems for real-time data:

• A trigger flow initiates upon receiving a product request.
• The orchestration can then call an external system (e.g., inventory management system) via Apex to retrieve real-time stock levels and pricing data.
• Another flow within the orchestration calculates the quote based on the retrieved data and pre-defined pricing rules.
• The final flow can automatically generate a professional quote document and send it to the customer for approval.

Benefits of Flow Orchestrator

• Flow Orchestrator goes beyond automating single steps. By orchestrating multiple flows, you can automate entire processes, eliminating manual tasks and improving operational efficiency.
• Streamlined workflows provide users with a clear and efficient path to complete complex tasks, minimizing errors and maximizing productivity.
• Managing complex processes becomes easier with Flow Orchestrator’s centralized orchestration view. You can monitor performance, identify bottlenecks, and troubleshoot issues more effectively.
• Gain deeper insights into your workflows through comprehensive orchestration execution logs, ensuring transparency and facilitating process optimization.

Flow Orchestrator vs. Flows

Salesforce Flows and Flow Orchestrator are both powerful tools for automating tasks and processes within your Salesforce environment. However, they cater to different levels of complexity. 

Key Differences:

• Purpose: Flows automate processes, while orchestrations build complex workflows.
• Record Dependency: Flows are tied to specific records, whereas orchestrations can involve multiple objects and users.
• Interface: Flows guide users with screens, while orchestrations monitor and enhance efficiency.
• Tool: Flows use Flow Builder, while orchestrations use Flow Orchestration.

Costs and Licensing

Flow Orchestrator is available with most Salesforce licenses, including Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited, and Developer Editions. There are no additional licensing fees associated with using Flow Orchestrator. However, standard Salesforce governor limits on flow executions and storage apply. 

Conclusion

Flow Orchestrator can automate intricate workflows within Salesforce, enhancing operational efficiency, streamlining user experiences, and gaining deeper insights into your business processes. With its intuitive interface, comprehensive learning resources, and wide range of use cases, Flow Orchestrator empowers you to orchestrate success within the Salesforce ecosystem.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the flow orchestrator in Salesforce?

Flow Orchestration enables the design of multi-step processes, referred to as orchestrations, which involve interactions with multiple users and systems. Orchestrations are structured into sequences of stages, each comprising different types of steps such as background, interactive, and MuleSoft steps.

2. What is the orchestration process in Salesforce?

The orchestration process involves stringing together individual flows into a larger sequence. These flows exchange data and execute in a predefined order, automating intricate business scenarios within Salesforce.

3. What is a record-triggered flow orchestration?

A record-triggered flow orchestration initiates automatically when a record is created or updated within a specific Salesforce object. This triggers the execution of the entire orchestration, automating tasks and processes based on the record data.

4. What is a workflow orchestration tool?

Flow Orchestrator is a specific workflow orchestration tool within the Salesforce platform. It allows you to design and manage complex workflows by orchestrating multiple flows, as opposed to generic workflow automation tools that might focus on single tasks.

5. What is the difference between flow and flow orchestrator?

Flows automate individual tasks within a single object, while Flow Orchestrator orchestrates the execution of multiple flows, handling complex multi-object scenarios and user interactions.

6. What are the 4 building blocks of flow orchestration?

The 4 building blocks of flow orchestration are:

• Orchestration Stages: These organize related tasks into sequential phases with defined completion criteria.
• Orchestration Steps: Tasks grouped within stages, including interactive, background, and MuleSoft steps.
• Flows in Orchestrations: Each step runs an associated flow, with evaluation flows handling complex logic.
• Work Items: Created during interactive steps, these assign tasks to users and are completed via the Orchestrator Work Guide on designated record pages.