diff --git a/.github/workflows/bump-version.yml b/.github/workflows/bump-version.yml
index 669e4d25..93380322 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/bump-version.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/bump-version.yml
@@ -1,14 +1,13 @@
 name: Manual Version Bump to Next SNAPSHOT
 
 on:
-#  release:
-#    types: [ created ]
+  workflow_run:
+    workflows: [ "Publish package to the Maven Central Repository" ]
+    types:
+      - completed
+    branches:
+      - main
   workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      base_branch:
-        description: 'Base branch for PR'
-        required: false
-        default: 'main'
 
 jobs:
   bump-version:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish.yml b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
index b49e3d24..0b540465 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -1,27 +1,18 @@
 name: Publish package to the Maven Central Repository
 
 on:
-  pull_request:
-    types:
-      - closed
-    branches:
-      - main
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      base_branch:
-        description: 'Base branch for PR'
-        required: false
-        default: 'main'
+  release:
+    types: [published]  # Triggered by a release publication
+  workflow_dispatch:    # Allows manual run if needed
 
 jobs:
-#  run_if:
-#    if: startsWith(github.head_ref, 'bump-version-')
   publish:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - name: Checkout repository at release tag
+        uses: actions/checkout@v5
         with:
-          ref: ${{ github.event.inputs.base_branch }}
+          ref: ${{ github.event.release.tag_name }}  # Uses the release tag
           fetch-depth: 0
           submodules: recursive
       - name: Set up JDK and Maven Settings
@@ -38,6 +29,29 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           gpg --list-keys
 
+      - name: Verify version matches release tag
+        run: |
+          POM_VERSION=$(mvn help:evaluate -Dexpression=project.version -q -DforceStdout)
+          TAG_VERSION=${{ github.event.release.tag_name }}
+          # Remove 'v' prefix if present
+          TAG_VERSION=${TAG_VERSION#v}
+          
+          echo "POM version: $POM_VERSION"
+          echo "Release tag: $TAG_VERSION"
+          
+          if [ "$POM_VERSION" != "$TAG_VERSION" ]; then
+            echo "❌ ERROR: Version mismatch!"
+            echo "POM version ($POM_VERSION) does not match release tag ($TAG_VERSION)"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          
+          if [[ "$POM_VERSION" == *"SNAPSHOT"* ]]; then
+            echo "❌ ERROR: Cannot publish SNAPSHOT version to Maven Central"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          
+          echo "✅ Version verification passed"
+
       - name: Publish package
         run: mvn --batch-mode deploy -DskipTests -Prelease
         env:
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 54104b83..6ef9e106 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -115,51 +115,83 @@ you could do that by adding this entry to your application configuration:
 narayana.messaginghub.maxConnections=10
 ```
 
-# Release & Versioning Process
+# Release Process
 
-This repository uses a two-step process for releasing artifacts to Maven Central
+This repository uses an automated two-step process for releasing artifacts to Maven Central.
 
-## Step 1: Create a GitHub Release
+## Step 1: Prepare the Release Version
 
-To start the release process:
+Before creating a GitHub Release, you need to manually prepare the release version:
 
-1. Go to the **Releases** section in GitHub.
-2. Click **"Draft a new release"**.
-3. In the **Tag version** field, enter the release version (e.g., `v1.2.3`).
-4. Fill in the **Release title** and description if needed.
-5. Click **"Publish release"**.
+1. **Update the version in `pom.xml`** files:
+   - Change from `X.Y.Z-SNAPSHOT` to `X.Y.Z` (remove the `-SNAPSHOT` suffix)
+   - Example: `1.2.3-SNAPSHOT` → `1.2.3`
 
-This will trigger the `Manual Version Bump to Next SNAPSHOT` GitHub Action.
+2. **Commit and push to main**:
+   ```bash
+   git add pom.xml
+   git commit -m "chore: prepare release X.Y.Z"
+   git push origin main
+   ```
 
+## Step 2: Create a GitHub Release
 
-## What happens next?
+1. Go to the [Releases section](../../releases) in GitHub.
+2. Click **"Draft a new release"**.
+3. In the **Tag version** field, enter the release version (e.g., `1.2.3`).
+   - ⚠️ **Important**: The tag must match the version in `pom.xml`.
+4. Fill in the **Release title** and **description**.
+5. Click **"Publish release"**.
 
-1. The `Manual Version Bump to Next SNAPSHOT` workflow:
-   - Calculates the next `-SNAPSHOT` version (e.g., `1.2.4-SNAPSHOT`).
-   - Creates a new branch called bump-version-*
-   - Updates the `pom.xml`.
-   - Opens a Pull Request with the version bump.
+## What Happens Next?
 
-## Next Step: Merge the PR
+### Automated Step 1: Publish to Maven Central
 
-Once the Pull Request is created, manual action should be perform to:
+The `Publish package to the Maven Central Repository` is triggered. This workflow will automatically:
+- Checkout the code at the release tag
+- Verify that the `pom.xml` version matches the release tag
+- Verify that the version is not a `-SNAPSHOT`
+- Publish the release to Maven Central
 
-1. Review the changes.
-2. If everything looks good, merge the PR.
-3. Your main branch will now be at the next `-SNAPSHOT` version, ready for development.
+### Automated Step 2: Bump to Next SNAPSHOT Version
 
-This will trigger the `Publish package to the Maven Central Repository` GitHub Action.
+Once the publish workflow completes successfully, the `Manual Version Bump to Next SNAPSHOT` is triggered. This workflow will automatically:
+- Calculate the next `-SNAPSHOT` version (e.g., `1.2.4-SNAPSHOT`)
+- Create a new branch called `bump-version-X.Y.Z-SNAPSHOT`
+- Update the `pom.xml` with the new version
+- Open a Pull Request with the version bump
 
-## Final step: Publish the release.
+## Step 3: Merge the Version Bump PR
 
-The `Publish package to the Maven Central Repository` workflow publishes the current version to Maven Central (via `mvn deploy`).
+1. Review the automatically created Pull Request.
+2. If everything looks correct, **merge the PR**.
+3. Your `main` branch will now be at the next `-SNAPSHOT` version, ready for development.
 
+## Complete Flow Diagram
+
+```
+1. Manual: Update pom.xml (1.2.3-SNAPSHOT → 1.2.3)
+   ↓
+2. Manual: Commit and push to main
+   ↓
+3. Manual: Create GitHub Release with tag v1.2.3
+   ↓
+4. Automated: Publish workflow verifies and publishes 1.2.3 to Maven Central
+   ↓
+5. Automated: Bump-version workflow creates PR for 1.2.4-SNAPSHOT
+   ↓
+6. Manual: Review and merge the PR
+   ↓
+7. Done: main branch is now at 1.2.4-SNAPSHOT
+```
 
-### Notes
+## Important Notes
 
-- The tag created in the GitHub release must match the version being released.
-- The PR will be automatically created only if the `pom.xml` version changes.
-- The PR will be created with a branch called `bump-version-<next-version>`
+- ⚠️ The tag created in the GitHub release **must match** the version in `pom.xml` (e.g., tag `v1.2.3` for version `1.2.3`).
+- ⚠️ The version in `pom.xml` must **not** contain `-SNAPSHOT` when creating the release.
+- ✅ The publish workflow includes safety checks to prevent publishing incorrect versions.
+- ✅ The PR for the version bump will only be created if the publish workflow succeeds.
+- 🔧 Both workflows can also be triggered manually via `workflow_dispatch` if needed.
 
 
 ## Snapshot & debug release job (Post-Sonatype Migration)