Approve by amount, not by habit
Small, routine purchases should need little or no approval; large ones should need a named senior approver. Setting thresholds by value keeps the senior people for the decisions that need them.
Name an approver and a deputy
If one person is the only approver, their holiday is a stockout. Define who can approve at each level and what happens when they are absent.
Escalate, do not stall
A request that sits unanswered is a hidden delay. Define how long each step may wait, then escalate automatically to the next person so urgent items keep moving.
Keep one record from request to payment
The request, approval, order, delivery check and invoice should be one chain. It makes audits straightforward and shows exactly where a purchase is stuck.
Common questions
They should follow a faster route with a named approver and a record, not no route. Emergencies are when controls matter most.
Most need two or three: routine, significant and exceptional. More levels usually add delay without adding control.