CAPEX Request System for a Multi-Site Manufacturing Operation
Outcome
Replaced a manual email-based approval process across 30+ sites with a fully auditable digital workflow
Published
Tech stack
The problem
A large multi-site manufacturing operation was managing capital expenditure requests entirely through email chains and spreadsheets. A request for new equipment at one site would be emailed to a line manager, forwarded to a department head, passed to finance, and eventually reach board level for sign-off — with no single place to track where a request was in the process, who had approved it, or what the cumulative budget impact was across all sites.
Requests got lost. Approvals were delayed. Finance had no real-time view of committed capital spend. Auditors had to reconstruct approval trails from email archives.
What was actually needed
A structured web application where requests could be submitted, routed through the correct approval chain based on value and department, tracked in real time, and stored with a complete audit trail.
The system needed to work across 30+ sites with different approval hierarchies, integrate with existing finance reporting, and be usable by non-technical staff on the factory floor.
What was built
A full web application built on .NET Minimal APIs with a SQL Server backend and a JavaScript frontend. Key features:
- Request submission form with asset details, justification, cost breakdown and site
- Automatic approval routing based on request value and department rules
- Email notifications at each approval stage
- Dashboard showing all requests by status, site and budget category
- Finance view showing committed spend vs budget by period
- Full audit trail — every action, approval and comment timestamped and stored
- Role-based access control for submitters, approvers and finance
Deployed via Docker and Azure DevOps CI/CD pipeline. Running in production across all sites.
The outcome
The manual email process was eliminated entirely. Finance gained real-time visibility of capital commitments across all sites. Approval times dropped significantly. Audit trails are now retrievable instantly rather than reconstructed from email archives.