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Intermediate Certificate on pass

Communication & Notification Connectors

Route alerts, approvals and operational events to Slack, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord and SMS — and control exactly what gets sent.

3 lessons 30 min 5-question assessment 70% to pass
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What you’ll learn

  • Choose the right channel for the message (chat vs SMS)
  • Connect each channel using its own method (OAuth, webhook, bot token, Cloud API, provider keys)
  • Send a test message to confirm delivery
  • Control which modules and events post to each channel

Course content

3 lessons · 30 min of reading
01
Lesson 1 of 3 Reading 9 min

Which channel, and when

AWRA can push operational events — new RFQs, approvals awaiting sign-off, purchase orders, low stock, payment confirmations — to the places your team already works. The communication category covers team chat (Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord), personal/informal messaging (WhatsApp, Telegram), and SMS (Africa's Talking, Twilio, Infobip).

Pick by audience and urgency. Team chat is best for internal ops visibility — a shared channel everyone watches. WhatsApp and Telegram suit lighter, person-to-person or small-group alerts. SMS is for reach that does not depend on internet or an app — order confirmations to customers, OTPs, or reminders to vendors who will not be in a chat tool.

You can run several at once. A tenant might send approval alerts to a Slack channel, delivery reminders to vendors by SMS, and payment confirmations by WhatsApp — each connector is independent and configured separately.

Key takeaways

  • Communication connectors push AWRA events to chat, messaging, or SMS.
  • Team chat = shared internal visibility; WhatsApp/Telegram = lighter person-to-person.
  • SMS reaches people without internet or an app (customers, vendors, OTPs).
  • Multiple channels can be active at once, each configured on its own.
02
Lesson 2 of 3 Workshop 12 min

Connecting a channel

Each channel connects the way its provider expects, all from Settings → Connectors. Slack uses OAuth — click "Add to Slack", pick a channel, and AWRA stores an incoming-webhook. Microsoft Teams and Discord use an incoming webhook URL you paste in. Telegram uses a bot token from BotFather plus a chat ID. WhatsApp uses the Meta Cloud API (access token + phone number ID). SMS providers use your own account keys (e.g. Africa's Talking username + API key, Twilio SID + token, or Infobip key) with your registered sender ID.

Whatever the method, the setup screen always offers a "Send test message". Use it before relying on the channel — a test proves the credentials, the destination, and (for chat groups) that the bot has permission to post. Nothing is trusted until a test message actually arrives.

Credentials are stored encrypted and scoped to your tenant, and each connector can be disconnected to stop messages immediately. Because these are per-tenant, every workspace uses its own Slack workspace, WhatsApp number, or SMS account.

Key takeaways

  • Slack = OAuth; Teams/Discord = webhook URL; Telegram = bot token + chat ID; WhatsApp = Cloud API; SMS = your provider keys.
  • Always confirm with "Send test message" before relying on a channel.
  • Credentials are encrypted and tenant-scoped; disconnect stops messages.
  • Each tenant brings its own accounts for each channel.
03
Lesson 3 of 3 Practice 9 min

Choosing what gets sent

A connected channel does not fire on everything by default — you choose which parts of the operation post to it. Each channel has per-module event toggles (procurement, sales, inventory, assets, vendors, operations, system), so you can send, say, only procurement approvals to a buyers channel and only payment events to a finance channel.

The goal is signal, not noise. If a channel receives every event it gets ignored; if it receives only the events that need a human, people trust it. Start narrow — turn on the one or two event types that matter for that audience — and widen only if the channel stays useful.

For precise, custom messages you can also drive channels from Workflow Automation: add a "send message" action to a rule so an exact event posts with your own wording. The connector toggles cover the common cases; workflows cover the bespoke ones.

Key takeaways

  • Per-module toggles control which events post to each channel.
  • Aim for signal over noise — start narrow, widen only if useful.
  • Different channels can carry different event types for different audiences.
  • Workflow Automation can post custom, event-specific messages.

Finished the material?

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