How RestFlow Built a Compliance-Ready Automation Layer in Frankfurt Aligned with EU Data Act

Data compliance in engineering sectors involves complex regulations that require efficient, automated workflows to keep pace with operational demands. 🚀 RestFlow worked closely with an engineering firm located in Frankfurt to build a compliance-ready automation layer focused on data sharing approvals and tracking while fully aligning with the EU Data Act. This case study dives into the challenges, our approach, technical architecture, and measurable benefits of automating compliance rather than managing it manually.

Whether you are a startup CTO, automation engineer, or operations specialist eager to implement automation workflows leveraging tools like n8n, Make, or Zapier, you will find step-by-step technical insights and real-world examples in this article.

Case Context & The Problem

The client is a mid-sized engineering company based in Frankfurt involved in developing complex industrial systems. The key department affected was the compliance and operations team responsible for managing data sharing approvals governed by the EU Data Act, a regulation enforcing stringent themes such as data access, portability, data sharing terms, and interoperability.

Prior to automation, the company’s approval process for sharing datasets was heavily manual: requests were received via email, approvals required contract checks by legal teams using PDFs, and tracking was maintained on spreadsheets updated sporadically. This led to multi-day delays with approvals averaging 4-5 business days, error rates in logging exceeded 12%, and internal audits revealed poor visibility into compliance enforcement. These inefficiencies threatened operational SLAs and risked non-compliance penalties.

The resulting friction impacted product timelines, caused repeat reworks, and created stress for compliance staff who had no centralized dashboard or alerts. The need for automation was critical to minimize risk, streamline the process, and create an audit-ready workflow aligned with the regulation’s requirements.

Our Approach: Proposing a Compliance-First Automation Strategy

RestFlow initiated a thorough discovery phase, mapping the entire data sharing approval journey from request intake to contract validation and dataset delivery. Key systems in use by the client included Gmail for communications, Google Sheets for legacy tracking, Slack for team notifications, and a custom ERP housing contracts and personnel data.

Understanding the complex conditional logic and stakeholder approvals required, we proposed an automation architecture using n8n as the orchestration engine. n8n was selected for its flexibility, open source nature, and ability to integrate seamlessly with Gmail, Slack, the ERP via API, and Google Sheets for reporting. This approach supports modularity and easy future scaling.

Our proposal centered on building a compliance-first automation layer that:

• Automates approvals based on predefined contract checks
• Tracks each dataset sharing event with detailed logs
• Provides real-time alerts and dashboards for compliance teams
• Ensures traceability and audit readiness aligned with the EU Data Act themes

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The Solution: Architecture & Workflow Design

The global architecture consists of the following components:

• Triggers: Incoming data sharing requests arrive via a secure webhook endpoint exposed by n8n, triggered by form submissions on the client’s intranet portal.
• Orchestration Tool: n8n handles workflow execution, using JSON to pass data through multiple nodes.
• External Integrations:
  • Gmail API for sending approval/rejection emails
  • ERP API to cross-check contract validity and user authorization
  • Slack for notifying teams of status changes
  • Google Sheets for maintaining a compliance log and generating audit reports
• Outputs: Automated approval emails, real-time Slack alerts, compliance dashboards updated in Sheets, and detailed logs stored for future audits.

End-to-End Workflow Description

The automation begins when an engineer submits a dataset sharing request through an online form. This triggers the webhook in n8n which collects the request metadata including dataset ID, requesting user, and intended recipient.

The workflow then invokes ERP API calls to validate the requesting user’s authorization and check applicable contracts. If contracts are outdated or missing, the workflow halts and sends an automatic email requesting updated documentation.

Upon successful validation, an approval step is triggered. Depending on dataset sensitivity, the workflow may require multi-level sign-off from compliance managers via Slack interactive messages.

Once approved, the workflow logs the event into Google Sheets with timestamp, user IDs, and contract references. A confirmation email with data sharing terms is sent to the recipient.

The process completes with a final Slack notification to the compliance team confirming dataset delivery tracking has started.

Step-by-Step Node Breakdown 🛠️

1. Webhook Trigger Node

The workflow starts with an HTTP webhook node configured to accept POST requests from the internal data sharing portal.
Key fields captured include requestor email, dataset ID, recipient details, and timestamp.
The webhook requires authentication via a secret token to ensure security.

2. User Authorization Check (ERP API Call)

This node calls the client’s ERP system API to verify the requestor’s permissions.
Input: requestor email.
Output: authorization flag and linked contract IDs.
Filter logic: If authorization is false, the next node sends a rejection email and stops the workflow using a conditional expression.

3. Contract Validation Node

Using the contract IDs, this node retrieves contract expiration dates.
Key mapping: contracts expiring within 30 days trigger an auto-email for contract renewal and stop further processing.

4. Multi-Level Approval via Slack

A Slack node sends interactive messages to compliance managers for dataset approval.
Users respond with “Approve” or “Reject” buttons.
Conditional branches handle responses:

• Approve: proceed to logging and notification
• Reject: send rejection email and close the request

5. Approval Logging to Google Sheets 📊

This node appends a new row to a Google Sheet with detailed request metadata, approval status, timestamps, and references.
It uses OAuth2 for authentication, with error handling for API limits.

6. Notification and Dataset Sharing Confirmation

Final emails are sent to the dataset recipient via Gmail API.
Slack alerts notify compliance of the completed transaction.
Output includes a URL to the approval log for audit purposes.

Error Handling, Robustness & Security

Our workflows implement multiple layers of error handling:

• Retries: Each API node is configured to retry 3 times with exponential backoff on failures.
• Deduplication: Webhook payloads include request UUIDs to enforce idempotency and prevent duplicate processing.
• Logging & Alerts: Failures trigger automatic Slack alerts to DevOps with error details.
• Security: All API keys and secrets are stored encrypted in n8n credentials with restricted scopes.
  Personal data is minimized in logs, and GDPR principles are adhered to.
  Webhook endpoint is secured with token authentication and IP whitelisting.

Performance, Scaling & Extensibility

The compliance automation is designed to scale as data sharing request volumes increase:

• Webhooks vs Polling: Webhook triggers provide real-time processing with minimal lag, preferred over periodic polling to reduce API calls and latency.
• Concurrency: n8n workflows are configured to process up to 20 requests in parallel with queue management for burst traffic.
• Modular Workflows: Sub-workflows separate contract validation, approvals, and logging for easy maintenance and upgrades.
• Localization: New compliance nodes can be added to handle data sharing in different countries with custom rules.

Comparing Popular Automation Tools for Compliance Automation

Tool	Cost	Pros	Cons
n8n	Free tier + Paid cloud plans	Open source, flexible, strong API integration, customizable workflows	Steeper learning curve, requires some technical skill
Make	Free tier + Paid plans	Visual drag-and-drop, powerful built-in app integrations, conditional logic	Pricing scales quickly with volume, less open customization
Zapier	Subscription plans from basic to premium	User friendly, extensive app library, good for simple automations	Limited complex conditional logic, higher cost at scale

Webhook vs Polling: Optimal Trigger Method for Compliance Workflows

Method	Latency	Resource Usage	Reliability
Webhook	Immediate	Low (event-driven)	High when secured properly
Polling	Delayed (interval-based)	Higher (periodic API calls)	Can miss events if polling interval too long

Google Sheets vs Database for Compliance Logging

Storage	Cost	Ease of Use	Scalability	Audit Capability
Google Sheets	Low (included in Google Workspace)	Very easy for non-technical users	Limited; slows with large datasets	Basic versioning, manual audit effort
Database (SQL/NoSQL)	Higher (hosting and maintenance)	Requires technical expertise	High scalability with indexing	Advanced audit logs and access controls

Results & Business Impact

After deployment, the client experienced significant gains:

• Time Saved: Average dataset sharing approval time reduced from 5 days to under 1 day (an 80% reduction).
• Error Reduction: Logging errors dropped from 12% to less than 1% due to automated validation.
• Improved Visibility: Compliance team gained instant access to real-time dashboards and alerts, improving SLA adherence by 30%.
• Audit-Ready Records: Automated detailed logs enabled smoother internal and external audits, reducing audit preparation time by 50%.

Operational stress and manual intervention were drastically reduced, freeing compliance staff to focus on strategic risk management rather than tedious record-keeping.

This transformation exemplifies how automating compliance requirements can unlock efficiency and reliability—critical for engineering firms under tight regulatory scrutiny.

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Pilot Phase & Ongoing Maintenance Disclaimer

The implementation included a pilot phase lasting four weeks, operating the new workflow alongside legacy manual processes.

This controlled testing allowed us to identify and fix minor bugs, edge cases, and process clarifications to ensure robustness.

Post-pilot, RestFlow provides full Automation-as-a-Service: hosting the workflow on managed cloud infrastructure, continuous monitoring, performance tuning, security updates, and version management.

This holistic support ensures sustainable compliance automation aligned with evolving regulations and client needs.

Conclusion

In this case study, we demonstrated how RestFlow built a compliance-ready automation layer for an engineering client in Frankfurt, fully aligned with the EU Data Act. By automating data sharing approvals, contract validations, and comprehensive logging, the client reduced approval times by over 80%, improved error rates, and enhanced audit preparedness.

The end-to-end use of n8n connected key enterprise systems like Gmail, ERP, Slack, and Google Sheets, delivering a scalable, robust solution.

RestFlow’s Automation-as-a-Service approach ensures that compliance workflows remain secure, monitored, and continuously improved—allowing engineering teams to focus on innovation rather than manual compliance.

If you’re ready to transform your compliance processes and unlock operational calm, explore the Automation Template Marketplace or create your free RestFlow account to get started today.