diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/handler/AbstractMessageProducingHandler.java b/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/handler/AbstractMessageProducingHandler.java
index f92b3f3153..577c485fd2 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/handler/AbstractMessageProducingHandler.java
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/handler/AbstractMessageProducingHandler.java
@@ -196,8 +196,8 @@ public abstract class AbstractMessageProducingHandler extends AbstractMessageHan
 			return routingSlipPathValue;
 		}
 		else {
-			String nextPath = ((RoutingSlipRouteStrategy) routingSlipPathValue).getNextPath(requestMessage, reply);
-			if (StringUtils.hasText(nextPath)) {
+			Object nextPath = ((RoutingSlipRouteStrategy) routingSlipPathValue).getNextPath(requestMessage, reply);
+			if (nextPath != null && (!(nextPath instanceof String) || StringUtils.hasText((String) nextPath))) {
 				return nextPath;
 			}
 			else {
diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/ExpressionEvaluatingRoutingSlipRouteStrategy.java b/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/ExpressionEvaluatingRoutingSlipRouteStrategy.java
index c743e40d53..05fb2baf65 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/ExpressionEvaluatingRoutingSlipRouteStrategy.java
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/ExpressionEvaluatingRoutingSlipRouteStrategy.java
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ public class ExpressionEvaluatingRoutingSlipRouteStrategy
 	}
 
 	@Override
-	public String getNextPath(Message<?> requestMessage, Object reply) {
+	public Object getNextPath(Message<?> requestMessage, Object reply) {
 		return this.expression.getValue(this.evaluationContext, new RequestAndReply(requestMessage, reply),
 				String.class);
 	}
diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/RoutingSlipRouteStrategy.java b/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/RoutingSlipRouteStrategy.java
index 7995550be0..95d36e13c9 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/RoutingSlipRouteStrategy.java
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/RoutingSlipRouteStrategy.java
@@ -20,12 +20,15 @@ import org.springframework.messaging.Message;
 
 /**
  * The {@code RoutingSlip} strategy to determine the next {@code replyChannel}.
+ * <p>
+ * This strategy is called repeatedly until null or an empty String is returned.
  *
  * @author Artem Bilan
  * @since 4.1
+ * @see org.springframework.integration.handler.AbstractMessageProducingHandler
  */
 public interface RoutingSlipRouteStrategy {
 
-	String getNextPath(Message<?> requestMessage, Object reply);
+	Object getNextPath(Message<?> requestMessage, Object reply);
 
 }
diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/transformer/support/RoutingSlipHeaderValueMessageProcessor.java b/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/transformer/support/RoutingSlipHeaderValueMessageProcessor.java
index aace9f599f..dbf3a4f090 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/transformer/support/RoutingSlipHeaderValueMessageProcessor.java
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/transformer/support/RoutingSlipHeaderValueMessageProcessor.java
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ public class RoutingSlipHeaderValueMessageProcessor
 		extends AbstractHeaderValueMessageProcessor<Map<List<Object>, Integer>>
 		implements BeanFactoryAware {
 
-	private final List<String> routingSlipPath;
+	private final List<Object> routingSlipPath;
 
 	private EvaluationContext evaluationContext;
 
@@ -56,9 +56,18 @@ public class RoutingSlipHeaderValueMessageProcessor
 
 	private BeanFactory beanFactory;
 
-	public RoutingSlipHeaderValueMessageProcessor(String... routingSlipPath) {
+	public RoutingSlipHeaderValueMessageProcessor(Object... routingSlipPath) {
 		Assert.notNull(routingSlipPath);
 		Assert.noNullElements(routingSlipPath);
+		for (Object entry : routingSlipPath) {
+			if (!(entry instanceof String
+					|| entry instanceof MessageChannel
+					|| entry instanceof RoutingSlipRouteStrategy)) {
+				throw new IllegalArgumentException("The RoutingSlip can contain " +
+						"only bean names of MessageChannel or RoutingSlipRouteStrategy, " +
+						"or MessageChannel and RoutingSlipRouteStrategy instances: " + entry);
+			}
+		}
 		this.routingSlipPath = Arrays.asList(routingSlipPath);
 	}
 
@@ -75,20 +84,29 @@ public class RoutingSlipHeaderValueMessageProcessor
 			synchronized (this) {
 				if (this.routingSlip == null) {
 					List<Object> routingSlipValues = new ArrayList<Object>(this.routingSlipPath.size());
-					for (String path : this.routingSlipPath) {
-						if (this.beanFactory.containsBean(path)) {
-							Object bean = this.beanFactory.getBean(path);
-							Assert.state(bean instanceof MessageChannel || bean instanceof RoutingSlipRouteStrategy,
-									"The RoutingSlip can contain only bean names of MessageChannel or " +
-											"RoutingSlipRouteStrategy: " + bean);
-							routingSlipValues.add(path);
+					for (Object path : this.routingSlipPath) {
+						if (path instanceof String) {
+							String entry = (String) path;
+							if (this.beanFactory.containsBean(entry)) {
+								Object bean = this.beanFactory.getBean(entry);
+								if (!(bean instanceof MessageChannel
+										|| bean instanceof RoutingSlipRouteStrategy)) {
+									throw new IllegalArgumentException("The RoutingSlip can contain " +
+											"only bean names of MessageChannel or RoutingSlipRouteStrategy: " + bean);
+								}
+								routingSlipValues.add(entry);
+							}
+							else {
+								ExpressionEvaluatingRoutingSlipRouteStrategy strategy = new
+										ExpressionEvaluatingRoutingSlipRouteStrategy(entry);
+								strategy.setIntegrationEvaluationContext(this.evaluationContext);
+								routingSlipValues.add(strategy);
+							}
 						}
 						else {
-							ExpressionEvaluatingRoutingSlipRouteStrategy strategy = new
-									ExpressionEvaluatingRoutingSlipRouteStrategy(path);
-							strategy.setIntegrationEvaluationContext(this.evaluationContext);
-							routingSlipValues.add(strategy);
+							routingSlipValues.add(path);
 						}
+
 					}
 					this.routingSlip = Collections.singletonMap(Collections.unmodifiableList(routingSlipValues), 0);
 				}
diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/RoutingSlipTests-context.xml b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/RoutingSlipTests-context.xml
index f6f82c87b3..8a6b0c0f84 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/RoutingSlipTests-context.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/RoutingSlipTests-context.xml
@@ -61,4 +61,6 @@
 
 	<aggregator input-channel="aggregate" expression="new java.util.ArrayList(#root)"/>
 
+	<beans:bean class="org.springframework.integration.routingslip.RoutingSlipTests$RoutingSlipConfiguration"/>
+
 </beans:beans>
diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/RoutingSlipTests.java b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/RoutingSlipTests.java
index e33b2da099..18712a2978 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/RoutingSlipTests.java
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/routingslip/RoutingSlipTests.java
@@ -16,11 +16,17 @@
 
 package org.springframework.integration.routingslip;
 
+import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.containsString;
+import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.instanceOf;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertNotNull;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertThat;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
+import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
 
 import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Date;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Properties;
@@ -30,27 +36,55 @@ import org.junit.Test;
 import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
 
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
+import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
+import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration;
 import org.springframework.integration.IntegrationMessageHeaderAccessor;
+import org.springframework.integration.annotation.BridgeTo;
+import org.springframework.integration.annotation.Transformer;
+import org.springframework.integration.channel.DirectChannel;
+import org.springframework.integration.channel.FixedSubscriberChannel;
 import org.springframework.integration.channel.QueueChannel;
+import org.springframework.integration.config.EnableIntegration;
+import org.springframework.integration.core.MessagingTemplate;
 import org.springframework.integration.history.MessageHistory;
 import org.springframework.integration.support.MessageBuilder;
+import org.springframework.integration.transformer.HeaderEnricher;
+import org.springframework.integration.transformer.support.RoutingSlipHeaderValueMessageProcessor;
 import org.springframework.messaging.Message;
 import org.springframework.messaging.MessageChannel;
+import org.springframework.messaging.MessagingException;
 import org.springframework.messaging.PollableChannel;
+import org.springframework.messaging.support.GenericMessage;
+import org.springframework.test.annotation.DirtiesContext;
 import org.springframework.test.context.ContextConfiguration;
 import org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringJUnit4ClassRunner;
+import org.springframework.test.context.support.GenericXmlContextLoader;
+
+import reactor.core.Environment;
+import reactor.core.composable.spec.Streams;
+import reactor.spring.context.config.EnableReactor;
 
 /**
  * @author Artem Bilan
  * @since 4.1
  */
-@ContextConfiguration
+@ContextConfiguration(loader = GenericXmlContextLoader.class)
 @RunWith(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.class)
+@DirtiesContext
 public class RoutingSlipTests {
 
 	@Autowired
 	private MessageChannel input;
 
+	@Autowired
+	private MessageChannel routingSlipHeaderChannel;
+
+	@Autowired
+	private PollableChannel resultsChannel;
+
+	@Autowired
+	private MessageChannel invalidRoutingSlipChannel;
+
 	@Test
 	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
 	public void testRoutingSlip() {
@@ -76,6 +110,42 @@ public class RoutingSlipTests {
 		}
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	public void testDynamicRoutingSlipRoutStrategy() {
+		this.routingSlipHeaderChannel.send(new GenericMessage<>("foo"));
+		Message<?> result = this.resultsChannel.receive(10000);
+		assertNotNull(result);
+		assertEquals("FOO", result.getPayload());
+
+		this.routingSlipHeaderChannel.send(new GenericMessage<>(2));
+		result = this.resultsChannel.receive(10000);
+		assertNotNull(result);
+		assertEquals(4, result.getPayload());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testInvalidRoutingSlipRoutStrategy() {
+		try {
+			new RoutingSlipHeaderValueMessageProcessor(new Date());
+			fail("IllegalArgumentException expected");
+		}
+		catch (Exception e) {
+			assertThat(e, instanceOf(IllegalArgumentException.class));
+			assertThat(e.getMessage(),
+					containsString("The RoutingSlip can contain " +
+							"only bean names of MessageChannel or RoutingSlipRouteStrategy, " +
+							"or MessageChannel and RoutingSlipRouteStrategy instances"));
+		}
+		try {
+			this.invalidRoutingSlipChannel.send(new GenericMessage<>("foo"));
+			fail("MessagingException expected");
+		}
+		catch (Exception e) {
+			assertThat(e, instanceOf(MessagingException.class));
+			assertThat(e.getMessage(), containsString("replyChannel must be a MessageChannel or String"));
+		}
+	}
+
 	public static class TestRoutingSlipRoutePojo {
 
 		final String[] channels = {"channel2", "channel3"};
@@ -98,10 +168,79 @@ public class RoutingSlipTests {
 		private AtomicBoolean invoked = new AtomicBoolean();
 
 		@Override
-		public String getNextPath(Message<?> requestMessage, Object reply) {
+		public Object getNextPath(Message<?> requestMessage, Object reply) {
 			return !invoked.getAndSet(true) ? "channel4" : null;
 		}
 
 	}
 
+	@Configuration
+	@EnableReactor
+	@EnableIntegration
+	public static class RoutingSlipConfiguration {
+
+		@Autowired
+		private Environment reactorEnv;
+
+		@Bean
+		public MessagingTemplate messagingTemplate() {
+			return new MessagingTemplate();
+		}
+
+		@Bean
+		public PollableChannel resultsChannel() {
+			return new QueueChannel();
+		}
+
+		@Bean
+		public RoutingSlipRouteStrategy routeStrategy() {
+			return (requestMessage, reply) -> requestMessage.getPayload() instanceof String
+					? new FixedSubscriberChannel(m ->
+					Streams.defer((String) m.getPayload())
+							.env(this.reactorEnv)
+							.get()
+							.map(String::toUpperCase)
+							.consume(v -> messagingTemplate().convertAndSend(resultsChannel(), v))
+							.flush())
+					: new FixedSubscriberChannel(m ->
+					Streams.defer((Integer) m.getPayload())
+							.env(this.reactorEnv)
+							.get()
+							.map(v -> v * 2)
+							.consume(v -> messagingTemplate().convertAndSend(resultsChannel(), v))
+							.flush());
+		}
+
+		@Bean
+		public MessageChannel routingSlipHeaderChannel() {
+			return new DirectChannel();
+		}
+
+		@Bean
+		@BridgeTo
+		public MessageChannel processChannel() {
+			return new DirectChannel();
+		}
+
+		@Bean
+		@Transformer(inputChannel = "routingSlipHeaderChannel", outputChannel = "processChannel")
+		public HeaderEnricher headerEnricher() {
+			return new HeaderEnricher(Collections.singletonMap(IntegrationMessageHeaderAccessor.ROUTING_SLIP,
+					new RoutingSlipHeaderValueMessageProcessor(routeStrategy())));
+		}
+
+		@Bean
+		public MessageChannel invalidRoutingSlipChannel() {
+			return new DirectChannel();
+		}
+
+		@Bean
+		@Transformer(inputChannel = "invalidRoutingSlipChannel", outputChannel = "processChannel")
+		public HeaderEnricher headerEnricher2() {
+			return new HeaderEnricher(Collections.singletonMap(IntegrationMessageHeaderAccessor.ROUTING_SLIP,
+					new RoutingSlipHeaderValueMessageProcessor((RoutingSlipRouteStrategy) (message, r) -> new Date())));
+		}
+
+	}
+
 }
diff --git a/src/reference/docbook/router.xml b/src/reference/docbook/router.xml
index 42ef5da66f..2ea6df48d5 100644
--- a/src/reference/docbook/router.xml
+++ b/src/reference/docbook/router.xml
@@ -1196,5 +1196,46 @@ public HeaderEnricher headerEnricher() {
                 </listitem>
             </itemizedlist>
         </section>
+        <section id="process-manager">
+            <title>Process Manager Enterprise Integration Pattern</title>
+            <para>
+                The EIP also defines the
+                <ulink url="http://www.eaipatterns.com/ProcessManager.html">Process Manager</ulink> pattern.
+                This pattern can now easily be implemented using custom <emphasis>Process Manager</emphasis> logic
+                encapsulated in a
+                <interfacename>RoutingSlipRouteStrategy</interfacename> within the routing slip.
+                In addition to a bean name, the <interfacename>RoutingSlipRouteStrategy</interfacename> can return any
+                <interfacename>MessageChannel</interfacename> object; and there is no requirement that this
+                <interfacename>MessageChannel</interfacename> instance is a bean in the application context.
+                This way, we can provide powerful dynamic routing logic, when there is no prediction which
+                channel should be used; a <interfacename>MessageChannel</interfacename> can be created
+                within the <interfacename>RoutingSlipRouteStrategy</interfacename> and returned. A
+                <classname>FixedSubscriberChannel</classname> with an associated <interfacename>MessageHandler</interfacename>
+                implementation is good combination for such cases. For example we can route to a
+                <ulink url="https://github.com/reactor/reactor/wiki/Streams">Reactor Stream</ulink>:
+            </para>
+            <programlisting language="java"><![CDATA[@Bean
+public PollableChannel resultsChannel() {
+	return new QueueChannel();
+}
+@Bean
+public RoutingSlipRouteStrategy routeStrategy() {
+	return (requestMessage, reply) -> requestMessage.getPayload() instanceof String
+			? new FixedSubscriberChannel(m ->
+			Streams.defer((String) m.getPayload())
+					.env(this.reactorEnv)
+					.get()
+					.map(String::toUpperCase)
+					.consume(v -> messagingTemplate().convertAndSend(resultsChannel(), v))
+					.flush())
+			: new FixedSubscriberChannel(m ->
+			Streams.defer((Integer) m.getPayload())
+					.env(this.reactorEnv)
+					.get()
+					.map(v -> v * 2)
+					.consume(v -> messagingTemplate().convertAndSend(resultsChannel(), v))
+					.flush());
+}]]></programlisting>
+        </section>
     </section>
 </section>