diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index 010c312c8a..449c3194bc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -1,64 +1,209 @@
 name: Release IRS
 
 on:
-  workflow_call:
+  workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
-      new-irs-version:
+      irs-version:
         description: 'New IRS version'
         required: true
         type: string
-      previous-irs-version:
-        description: 'Previous IRS version'
-        required: true
-        type: string
+
       helm-chart-version:
         description: 'New Helm Chart version'
         required: true
         type: string
 
+      add-change-to-helm-changelog:
+        description: 'Add "Update IRS to ..." change to Helm Chart changelog'
+        required: true
+        type: boolean
+
+env:
+  IRS_APPLICATION_PATH: 'irs-api/src/main/java/org/eclipse/tractusx/irs/IrsApplication.java'
+  CHANGELOG_PATH: 'CHANGELOG.md'
+  OPENAPI_SPEC_PATH: 'docs/src/api/irs-api.yaml'
+  HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH: 'charts/item-relationship-service/CHANGELOG.md'
+  SEMVER_PATTERN: '[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+'
+  SEMVER_PATTERN_SED: '[0-9]\+\.[0-9]\+\.[0-9]\+\'
+  GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
 jobs:
   release:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
+      - name: Validate that workflow inputs are SemVer strings
+        run: |
+          matched_irs_semver_string=$(echo '${{ inputs.irs-version }}" | grep -Ex "${{ env.SEMVER_PATTERN }}" || echo "")
+          matched_helm_chart_semver_string=$(echo "${{ inputs.helm-chart-version }}" | grep -Ex "${{ env.SEMVER_PATTERN }}" || echo "")
+          if [[ -z "$matched_irs_semver_string"  || -z "$matched_helm_chart_semver_string" ]]; then
+              echo "At least one of the version numbers ${{ inputs.irs-version }} or ${{ inputs.helm-chart-version }} is not a SemVer string."
+              exit 1
+          fi
+        continue-on-error: false
+
+      - name: Validate that IRS and Helm Chart versions don't exist yet
+        run: |
+          # IRS version can be checked via git tag since every release has a tag
+          matched_irs_version=$(git tag | grep -Eo "${{ inputs.irs-version }}" || echo "")
+          # extract from Helm Chart changelog
+          matched_helm_chart_version=$(grep -Eo "## \[${{ inputs.helm-chart-version }}\]" ${{ env.HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }} || echo "")
+          
+          if [[ -n "$matched_irs_version" || -n "$matched_helm_chart_version" ]]; then
+              echo "At least one of the version numbers ${{ inputs.irs-version }} or ${{ inputs.helm-chart-version }} already exists."
+              exit 1
+          fi
+        continue-on-error: false
+
+      - name: Update changelog
+        run: |
+          date=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d")
+
+          # get line number of uppermost comparison url at bottom of changelog ("[Unreleased]: https://github.com/.../version...HEAD")
+          latest_comparison_url_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eoi "[0-9]+.\[Unreleased\]" | grep -Eo "[0-9]+")
+
+          # previous version can be extracted from line below uppermost comparison
+          previous_irs_version=$(awk "NR==$((latest_comparison_url_line_number+1))" ${{ env.CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eo "\[${{ env.SEMVER_PATTERN }}\]" | tr -d "[]")
+
+          # correct uppermost comparison
+          sed -i "$latest_comparison_url_line_number s|${{ env.SEMVER_PATTERN_SED }}\.\.\.HEAD|${{ inputs.irs-version }}...HEAD|" ${{ env.CHANGELOG_PATH }}         
+
+          # insert new comparison below uppermost one
+          sed -i "$((latest_comparison_url_line_number+1)) s|^|[${{ inputs.irs-version }}]: \
+          https://github.com/eclipse-tractusx/item-relationship-service/compare/$previous_irs_version...${{ inputs.irs-version }}\n|" ${{ env.CHANGELOG_PATH }}        
+
+          # replace placeholder
+          placeholder_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eoi "[0-9]+.## \[Unreleased\]" | grep -Eo "[0-9]+")
+          sed -i "$((placeholder_line_number+1)) s|^|\n## [${{ inputs.irs-version }}] - $date\n|" ${{ env.CHANGELOG_PATH }}
+
+      - name: Update Helm changelog
+        run: |
+          date=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d")
+          
+          ### update Helm Chart directory's CHANGELOG.md ###
+          helm_changelog_placeholder_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eoi "[0-9]+.## \[Unreleased\]" | grep -Eo "[0-9]+")
+
+          if [[ "${{ inputs.add-change-to-helm-changelog }}" == "true" ]]; then
+           # get line number of first header which is not placeholder
+           next_header_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eo -m 1 "[0-9]+.## \[${{ env.SEMVER_PATTERN }}\]" | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
+          
+           # get line number of first  "### Changed" section
+           first_changed_section_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eo -m 1 "[0-9]+.### Changed" | grep -Eo "[0-9]+")
+          
+           # "### Changed" is already present for current changelog if it comes before next header -> just insert line below
+           if [[ $first_changed_section_line_number -lt $next_header_line_number ]]; then
+          
+             # check if markdown was properly formatted (with blank line between "### Changed" and first change)
+             line_after=$(awk "NR==$((first_changed_section_line_number+1))" ${{ env.HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }})
+          
+             if [[ "$line_after" == "" ]]; then
+               sed -i "$((first_changed_section_line_number+1)) s|^|\n- Update IRS version to ${{ inputs.irs-version }}|" ${{ env.HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }}
+             else # format properly with blank line
+               sed -i "$((first_changed_section_line_number+1)) s|^|\n- Update IRS version to ${{ inputs.irs-version }}\n|" ${{ env.HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }}
+             fi
+          
+           else
+             helm_changelog_placeholder_line_number+1)) s|^|\n### Changed\n\n- Update IRS version to ${{ inputs.irs-version }}\n|" ${{ env.HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }}
+           fi
+          fi
+
+          # replace placeholder
+          helm_changelog_placeholder_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eoi "[0-9]+.## \[Unreleased\]" | grep -Eo "[0-9]+")
+          sed -i "$((helm_changelog_placeholder_line_number+1)) s|^|\n## [${{ inputs.helm-chart-version }}] - $date\n|" ${{ env.HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }}
+
+      - name: Update irs-api.yaml
+        run: |
+          openapi_spec_irs_version_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.OPENAPI_SPEC_PATH }} | grep -Eo -m 1 "[0-9]+.+version: ${{ env.SEMVER_PATTERN }}" | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
+          sed -i "$openapi_spec_irs_version_line_number s|${{ env.SEMVER_PATTERN_SED }}|${{ inputs.irs-version }}|" ${{ env.OPENAPI_SPEC_PATH }}
+
+      - name: Update IrsApplication.java
+        run: sed -i "s|API_VERSION = \"${{ env.SEMVER_PATTERN_SED }}\"|API_VERSION = \"${{ inputs.irs-version }}\"|" ${{ env.IRS_APPLICATION_PATH }}
+
       - name: Update Chart.yaml appVersion
         uses: mikefarah/yq@v4.44.2
         with:
-          cmd: yq -i eval '.appVersion = "${{ inputs.new-irs-version }}"' charts/item-relationship-service/Chart.yaml
+          cmd: yq -i eval '.appVersion = "${{ inputs.irs-version }}"' charts/item-relationship-service/Chart.yaml
 
       - name: Update Chart.yaml version
         uses: mikefarah/yq@v4.44.2
         with:
           cmd: yq -i eval '.version = "${{ inputs.helm-chart-version }}"' charts/item-relationship-service/Chart.yaml
 
-      - name: Prepare Helm release
+      - name: Update docs for release
+        id: cpr
         uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v6
         with:
-          commit-message: "chore(release): Prepare release for Helm version ${{ inputs.helm-chart-version }}"
-          branch: chore/prepare-helm-release-${{ inputs.helm-chart-version }}
-          base: main
+          commit-message: 'chore(docs): Update docs for IRS release ${{ inputs.irs-version }}'
+          branch: chore/docs-update-release-${{ inputs.irs-version }}
           delete-branch: true
-          title: Prepare Helm release for next version
-          body: |
-            This PR prepares the Helm chart release for version ${{ inputs.helm-chart-version }}. 
-            Please check whether the Chart was updated correctly and that the CHANGELOG contains the relevant information
-            for this release. Also, make sure that the values.yaml is correct before merging this PR.
+          title: "chore: updated docs for release"
+          body: This PR prepares the docs and the Helm chart for IRS release ${{ inputs.irs-version }}.
+            Please check whether everything was updated correctly. Once this PR is merged, the release process will continue automatically.
+
+      - name: Wait for pull request merge
+        run: |
+          pull_request_number=${{ steps.cpr.outputs.pull-request-number }}
+          pull_request_merged="False"
+          seconds_waited_for_merge=0
+          # set duration between api requests
+          sleep_interval_length=30 # seconds
+          timeout_in_minutes=15
+          
+          echo "Waiting for merge of PR #$pull_request_number."
+          
+          while [[ "$pull_request_merged" == "False" ]]
+          do
+            # give some time to merge pull request
+            sleep "$sleep_interval_length"s
+          
+            # retrieve pr status using GH API's pull requests endpoint with GH CLI
+            pr_status=$(gh pr view $pull_request_number --json state --jq ".state")
+          
+            case $pr_status in
+          
+              MERGED)
+                pull_request_merged="True"
+                echo "PR #$pull_request_number merged, continuing the workflow."
+                ;;
+          
+              OPEN)
+                seconds_waited_for_merge=$((seconds_waited_for_merge+sleep_interval_length))
+          
+                # abort workflow when having waited for more than allowed time
+                if [[ $seconds_waited_for_merge -gt $((timeout_in_minutes*60)) ]]; then
+                  echo "Timeout waiting for merge of PR #$pull_request_number, aborting the workflow."
+                  exit 1
+                fi                
+                ;;
+          
+              CLOSED)
+                echo "PR #$pull_request_number was closed, aborting the workflow."
+                exit 1
+                ;;
+          
+            esac
+          
+          done
+        continue-on-error: false
+
+      - name: Create and push new Git tag for release
+        run: git tag ${{ inputs.irs-version }} && git push ${{ inputs.irs-version }}
 
       - name: Extract changelog text
         # See: https://docs.github.com/en/actions/using-workflows/workflow-commands-for-github-actions#multiline-strings
         run: |
           EOF=$(dd if=/dev/urandom bs=15 count=1 status=none | base64)
           echo "CHANGELOG<<$EOF" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          sed -n -e '/## \[${{ inputs.new-irs-version }}\]/,/## \[/ p' CHANGELOG.md | head -n -1 | tail -n +2 >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo **Full Changelog**: ${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/compare/${{ inputs.previous-irs-version }}...${{ inputs.new-irs-version }} >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          sed -n -e '/## \[${{ inputs.irs-version }}\]/,/## \[/ p' CHANGELOG.md | head -n -1 | tail -n +2 >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo **Full Changelog**: ${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/compare/${{ inputs.previous-irs-version }}...${{ inputs.irs-version }} >> $GITHUB_ENV
           echo "$EOF" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
 
       - name: Create IRS release
         uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
         with:
           body: ${{ env.CHANGELOG }}
-          tag_name: ${{ inputs.new-irs-version }}
+          tag_name: ${{ inputs.irs-version }}
 
   publish-to-swaggerhub:
     name: "Publish OpenAPI spec to Swaggerhub"
@@ -68,5 +213,5 @@ jobs:
       - release
     uses: ./.github/workflows/publish-swagger-hub.yml
     with:
-      version: ${{ inputs.new-irs-version }}
+      version: ${{ inputs.irs-version }}
     secrets: inherit
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/update-docs-for-release.yml b/.github/workflows/update-docs-for-release.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 70fdf27f77..0000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/update-docs-for-release.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,184 +0,0 @@
-name: Update docs for IRS release
-
-env:
-  IRS_APPLICATION_PATH: 'irs-api/src/main/java/org/eclipse/tractusx/irs/IrsApplication.java'
-  TOP_LEVEL_CHANGELOG_PATH: 'CHANGELOG.md'
-  IRS_OPENAPI_SPEC_PATH: 'docs/src/api/irs-api.yaml'
-  IRS_HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH: 'charts/item-relationship-service/CHANGELOG.md'
-  SEMVER_PATTERN: '[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+'
-  GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-
-on:
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      irs-version:
-        description: 'New IRS version'
-        required: true
-        type: string
-      helm-chart-version:
-        description: 'New Helm Chart version'
-        required: true
-        type: string
-      helm-changelog-irs-added:
-        description: '"Update IRS version to ..." change already present in charts/irs-helm/CHANGELOG.md for this release?'
-        required: true
-        type: choice
-        options:
-          - 'Yes'
-          - 'No'
-        default: 'No'
-jobs:
-  update-docs-for-release:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    outputs:
-      previous-irs-version: ${{ steps.update-docs.outputs.previous-irs-version }}
-
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-
-      - name: Validate that workflow inputs are SemVer strings
-        run: |
-          matched_irs_semver_string=$(echo "${{ inputs.irs-version }}" | grep -Ex "${{ env.SEMVER_PATTERN }}" || echo "")
-          matched_helm_chart_semver_string=$(echo "${{ inputs.helm-chart-version }}" | grep -Ex "${{ env.SEMVER_PATTERN }}" || echo "")
-          if [[ -z "$matched_irs_semver_string"  || -z "$matched_helm_chart_semver_string" ]]; then
-              exit 1
-          fi
-        continue-on-error: false
-
-      - name: Validate that IRS and Helm Chart versions don't exist yet
-        run: |
-          # IRS version can be checked via git tag since every release has a tag
-          matched_irs_version=$(git tag | grep -Eo "${{ inputs.irs-version }}" || echo "")
-          # extract from Helm Chart changelog
-          matched_helm_chart_version=$(grep -Eo "## \[${{ inputs.helm-chart-version }}\]" ${{ env.IRS_HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }} || echo "")
-          
-          if [[ -n "$matched_irs_version" || -n "$matched_helm_chart_version" ]]; then
-              echo "IRS or Helm Chart release version already exists, aborting..."
-              exit 1
-          fi
-        continue-on-error: false
-
-      - name: Update top level changelog, IRS Helm changelog, Helm repository's yaml file and IrsApplication.java
-        id: update-docs
-        run: |
-          new_irs_version="${{ inputs.irs-version }}"
-          new_helm_chart_version="${{ inputs.helm-chart-version }}"
-          irs_change_present_in_helm_changelog="${{ inputs.helm-changelog-irs-added }}"
-          date=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d")
-          
-          semver_pattern="${{ env.SEMVER_PATTERN }}"
-          semver_pattern_sed="[0-9]\+\.[0-9]\+\.[0-9]\+"
-
-          # get line numbers of "Unreleased" or "UNRELEASED" placeholders in changelogs to use them with sed
-          top_lvl_changelog_placeholder_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.TOP_LEVEL_CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eoi "[0-9]+.## \[Unreleased\]" | grep -Eo "[0-9]+")
-          irs_helm_changelog_placeholder_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.IRS_HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eoi "[0-9]+.## \[Unreleased\]" | grep -Eo "[0-9]+")
-          
-          ### update CHANGELOG.md ###
-          # get line number of uppermost comparison url ("[Unreleased]: https://github.com/.../version...HEAD")
-          latest_comparison_url_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.TOP_LEVEL_CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eoi "[0-9]+.\[Unreleased\]" | grep -Eo "[0-9]+")
-          
-          # previous version can be extracted from line below uppermost comparison
-          previous_irs_version=$(awk "NR==$((latest_comparison_url_line_number+1))" ${{ env.TOP_LEVEL_CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eo "\[$semver_pattern\]" | tr -d "[]")
-          echo "previous-irs-version=$previous_irs_version" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          
-          # correct uppermost comparison
-          sed -i "$latest_comparison_url_line_number s|$semver_pattern_sed\.\.\.HEAD|$new_irs_version...HEAD|" ${{ env.TOP_LEVEL_CHANGELOG_PATH }}         
-          
-          # insert new comparison below uppermost one
-          sed -i "$((latest_comparison_url_line_number+1)) s|^|[$new_irs_version]: https://github.com/eclipse-tractusx/item-relationship-service/compare/$previous_irs_version...$new_irs_version\n|" ${{ env.TOP_LEVEL_CHANGELOG_PATH }}        
-          
-          # replace placeholder
-          # get line numbers of "Unreleased" placeholder in changelogs to use them with sed
-          top_lvl_changelog_placeholder_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.TOP_LEVEL_CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eoi "[0-9]+.## \[Unreleased\]" | grep -Eo "[0-9]+")
-          sed -i "$((top_lvl_changelog_placeholder_line_number+1)) s|^|\n## [$new_irs_version] - $date\n|" ${{ env.TOP_LEVEL_CHANGELOG_PATH }}
-          
-          ### update irs-helm directory's CHANGELOG.md ###
-          if [[ "$irs_change_present_in_helm_changelog" == "No" ]]; then
-            # get line number of first header which is not placeholder
-            next_header_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.IRS_HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eo -m 1 "[0-9]+.## \[$semver_pattern\]" | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
-            # get line number of first  "### Changed" section
-            first_changed_section_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.IRS_HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eo -m 1 "[0-9]+.### Changed" | grep -Eo "[0-9]+")
-          
-            # "### Changed" is already present for current changelog if it comes before next header -> just insert line below
-            if [[ $first_changed_section_line_number -lt $next_header_line_number ]]; then
-              sed -i "$((first_changed_section_line_number+1)) s|^|- Update IRS version to $new_irs_version\n|" ${{ env.IRS_HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }}
-            # not present, insert before beginning of next header
-            else
-              sed -i "$(($next_header_line_number-1)) s|^|\n### Changed\n- Update IRS version to $new_irs_version\n|" ${{ env.IRS_HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }}
-            fi
-          fi
-          
-          # replace placeholder
-          irs_helm_changelog_placeholder_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.IRS_HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }} | grep -Eoi "[0-9]+.## \[Unreleased\]" | grep -Eo "[0-9]+")
-          sed -i "$((irs_helm_changelog_placeholder_line_number+1)) s|^|\n## [$new_helm_chart_version] - $date\n|" ${{ env.IRS_HELM_CHANGELOG_PATH }}
-          
-          ### update irs-api.yaml ###
-          irs_openapi_spec_irs_version_line_number=$(cat -n ${{ env.IRS_OPENAPI_SPEC_PATH }} | grep -Eo -m 1 "[0-9]+.+version: $semver_pattern" | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
-          sed -i "$irs_openapi_spec_irs_version_line_number s|$semver_pattern_sed|$new_irs_version|" ${{ env.IRS_OPENAPI_SPEC_PATH }}  
-          
-          ### update IrsApplication.java ###
-          sed -i "s|API_VERSION = \"$semver_pattern_sed\"|API_VERSION = \"$new_irs_version\"|" ${{ env.IRS_APPLICATION_PATH }}
-
-      - name: Create pull request
-        id: cpr
-        uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v6
-        with:
-          commit-message: 'chore(docs): Update docs for release ${{ inputs.irs-version }}'
-          branch: chore/update-docs-for-irs-release-${{ inputs.irs-version }}
-          base: main
-          delete-branch: true
-          title: Updated docs for next release
-          body: This PR prepares the docs for IRS release version ${{ inputs.irs-version }}.
-            Please check whether the docs were updated correctly. Once this PR is merged, the release process will continue automatically.
-
-      - name: Wait for pull request merge
-        run: |
-          pull_request_number=${{ steps.cpr.outputs.pull-request-number }}
-          pull_request_merged="False"
-          seconds_waited_for_merge=0
-          # set duration between api requests
-          sleep_interval_length=30 # seconds
-          timeout_in_minutes=10
-          
-          while [[ "$pull_request_merged" == "False" ]]
-          do
-            # give some time to merge pull request
-            sleep "$sleep_interval_length"s
-          
-            # retrieve pr status using GH API's pull requests endpoint with GH CLI
-            pr_status=$(gh pr view $pull_request_number --json state --jq ".state")
-          
-            case $pr_status in
-              
-              MERGED)
-                pull_request_merged="True"
-                ;;
-              
-              OPEN)
-                seconds_waited_for_merge=$((seconds_waited_for_merge+sleep_interval_length))
-                # abort workflow when having waited for more than specified time
-                if [[ $seconds_waited_for_merge -gt $((timeout_in_minutes*60)) ]]; then
-                  exit 1
-                fi
-                ;;
-              
-              CLOSED)
-                exit 1
-                ;;
-          
-            esac
-          
-          done
-        continue-on-error: false
-
-      - name: Create and push new Git tag for release
-        run: git tag ${{ inputs.irs-version }} && git push origin ${{ inputs.irs-version }}
-
-  call-release-workflow:
-    needs:
-      - update-docs-for-release
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/release.yaml
-    with:
-      new-irs-version: ${{ inputs.irs-version }}
-      previous-irs-version: ${{ needs.update-docs-for-release.outputs.previous-irs-version }}
-      helm-chart-version: ${{ inputs.helm-chart-version }}