The order sits in pending approval with no approver shown, or with an approver who says they never received it.
Most likely causes
- The approval rule found nobody. A rule that resolves to an empty set leaves the document waiting rather than failing loudly, which is why it looks stuck rather than broken.
- The approver is inactive or has left. A terminated worker can still be named in a hierarchy.
- A supervisory chain is incomplete. Hierarchy-based routing stops where the chain stops.
- Notifications are not arriving. The task exists and the person never sees it — check their worklist directly before assuming the routing failed.
What to check
- The document's approval history — it usually names where routing stopped.
- Whether the named approver has an active assignment and a supervisor.
- Whether the amount crosses a limit that routes differently. Orders that approve fine below a threshold and stick above it point straight at the rule.
Force-approving clears the symptom and leaves the rule broken for the next order. Worth fixing the rule in the same visit.
If none of the above explains it, raise a ticket and include what you checked. Reading this article cost you no hours.