We're thrilled to unveil a new capability for Paths called Merging, which is a small but significant upgrade in Relay's automation toolkit. Path Merging streamlines workflow management by enabling users to easily add actions that are common across all of the Paths in a process. This simplifies complex workflows, minimizes errors, and saves valuable time by cutting down on repetitive steps.
Smart automation relies on the ability to create workflows that adapt based on varying conditions. Zapier and Relay (hey there! đź‘‹) both offer this through the Paths feature, which enables you to build complex branching workflows with ease.
Consider a common scenario: You receive a customer email that you want to log in your CRM. Whether you're using Relay or a competitor like Zapier, setting up a workflow for this process is straightforward.
- Trigger: Receive a new email in Gmail.
- Action: Look up whether the contact exists in your CRM.
- Path: Split into two branches based on whether the contact exists.
- Path 1: Contact Does Not Exist
- Create a new Contact Record
- Create an Activity Record to log the email
- Path 2: Contact Does Exist
- Create an Activity Record to log the email
- Path 1: Contact Does Not Exist
Note that in platforms like Zapier you have to copy the step to “Create an Activity Record” in both Paths! This is time consuming and error-prone. Here is where our new Path Merging feature shines. ✨
Path Merging eliminates the need for this manual tweak by enabling you to execute the same action across all paths. Going back to our scenario, this means you only need to set up a single step to “Create an Activity Record” and log the email.
Why is this so significant?
- It saves time. You don't have to waste time adding the same step in multiple places.
- It creates clearer workflows. Your workflows are easier to understand at a glance.
- It prevents mistakes. There's less chance of messing things up when you don't have to duplicate steps.
- It simplifies updates. You can change your workflows without having to redo everything.
- It enhances scalability. You can make your workflows bigger or more complex without extra hassle.
Path Merging is designed to make your automation processes more efficient and easier to manage (plus it directly addresses a common frustration with Zapier's functionality).
We're excited for it to go live today, and share it with you all. You can check out Path Merging in the Relay dashboard.
