Zero Touch request flow

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Zero Touch request flow

    The Zero Touch request flow in ServiceNow Yokohama release enables organizations to fulfill employee hardware requests through an external provider with minimal manual intervention. This process leverages the ServiceNow Cloud and the Service Exchange application to automate request approval, order confirmation, shipping, and receipt acknowledgment efficiently.

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    Key Requirements

    • Both your organization and the external provider must be on the ServiceNow Cloud.
    • The ServiceNow Service Exchange application must be configured on your instance.
    • The provider must publish Remote catalog items or Remote record producers accessible for request mapping.

    Request Workflow

    • An employee submits a catalog request for a Zero Touch-enabled hardware item.
    • The request enters a Pending Approval state, awaiting approver review.
    • The approver can approve or reject the request:
      • Rejected requests move to Closed Rejected state and the requested item to Closed incomplete.
      • Approved requests move to Approved state and the item to Pending Confirmation.
    • Requests from unauthorized users without access to remote record producers are automatically marked Closed incomplete.
    • Upon approval, the request is forwarded to the provider per the mapped remote record producer.
    • The provider confirms the order via a Scratchpad update, advancing the item stage to Pending shipment.
    • The provider ships the asset(s) and sends shipment details via Scratchpad update, triggering:
      • Assignment of asset with serial number and asset tag to the employee.
      • Email notifications to asset managers if there are issues such as duplicate serial numbers, unavailable model numbers, or consumable assets.
      • Creation of unique shipment records viewable in the Hardware Asset Workspace under Asset operations.
      • Support for partial or full shipments for asset bundles, with stage advancing to Pending receive only after full shipment.
    • The employee acknowledges asset receipt via mobile device, completing the request stage to Complete.
    • For consumable assets (which cannot be acknowledged on mobile), asset managers receive notifications to confirm receipt on behalf of the employee.

    Practical Benefits

    This automated flow reduces manual effort in hardware fulfillment, improves tracking and accountability of asset shipments and receipts, and ensures timely notifications for asset managers to resolve exceptions. It streamlines collaboration between your organization and external providers through integrated ServiceNow processes.

    Fulfill the hardware requests of your employees through an external provider with minimal intervention by using the Zero Touch request flow.

    Zero Touch request flow requirements

    The Zero Touch request flow has the following basic requirements:
    1. Your organization and the provider must be on the ServiceNow Cloud.
    2. The ServiceNow Service Exchange application must be configured on the ServiceNow instance.
    3. Your provider must have published the Remote catalog items or Remote record producers.

    Zero Touch request workflow

    1. An employee of your organization submits a catalog request for a catalog item associated with the Zero Touch request flow.

      A catalog request is created with the Request state as Pending Approval.

    2. The approver reviews the catalog request and performs either of the following tasks:
      • Rejects the catalog request: The Request state changes to Closed Rejected and the Stage of the requested item changes to Closed incomplete.
      • Approves the catalog request: The Request state changes to Approved and the Stage of the Requested item changes to Pending Confirmation.
        Note:
        If a requester who doesn't have access to the remote record producer submits a catalog request, the requested item is marked as Closed incomplete.
    3. After the catalog request is approved, the request goes through the following changes:
      1. The request is sent to the provider based on the Remote record producer configured in the catalog item mapping.
      2. The Stage of the requested item changes to Pending confirmation on the ServiceNow instance of your organization.
    4. The provider sends a Scratchpad update confirming the order to your ServiceNow instance. The Stage of the requested item changes to Pending shipment.
    5. The provider ships the asset to your employee and sends a Scratchpad update with the shipment details to your ServiceNow instance.
      The following events happen when the provider ships the asset:
      • An asset with the serial number and asset tag specified by the provider is assigned to the employee.
        Note:
        An email notification is sent to the asset managers in the following scenarios to take necessary actions:
        • An asset record with the serial number provided by the provider exists on your ServiceNow instance.
        • The model number provided by the provider isn't available on your ServiceNow instance.
        • The asset that is shipped is a consumable.
      • Based on the tracking number and shipping carrier details that the provider specified in the Scratchpad update, a unique shipment record is created for the shipment. You can view the shipment records with the associated assets in the Assets operations view of the Hardware Asset Workspace. For more details, see View hardware asset shipment details.

      When shipping an asset bundle, the provider can choose to ship the assets fully through a single shipment or partially through multiple shipments. Only when the assets are fully shipped, the Stage of the requested item changes to Pending receive.

    6. The employee acknowledges the receipt of the asset on a mobile device. The Stage of the requested item changes to Complete.
      Note:
      Receipt of the consumable asset can't be confirmed on a mobile device. The asset manager takes the necessary actions based on the email notifications received and confirms on behalf of the employee.

    For more details on creating and fulfilling hardware asset requests through the Zero Touch request flow, see Manage hardware asset requests using the Zero Touch request flow.