diff --git a/.github/workflows/_create_github_release.yml b/.github/workflows/_create_github_release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3d6b271
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/_create_github_release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        description: 'Version to release'
+        required: true
+        type: string
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        description: 'Version to release'
+        required: true
+        type: string
+
+jobs:
+  # create github release
+  create_release:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/create-release@v1
+        with:
+          tag_name: v${{ inputs.version }}
+          release_name: Release v${{ inputs.version }}
+          draft: false
+          prerelease: false
+        env:
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/bump-my-version.yml b/.github/workflows/bump-my-version.yml
index 6789244..6aaa234 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/bump-my-version.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/bump-my-version.yml
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ on:
 jobs:
   build:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+      pull-requests: write
     steps:
       # notify if someone is trying to run this from any other branch than `release`
       - name: Ensure on release branch
diff --git a/.github/workflows/push_to_release.yml b/.github/workflows/push_to_release.yml
index 9849e07..da1b535 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/push_to_release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/push_to_release.yml
@@ -40,10 +40,16 @@ jobs:
           echo "version=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
       - name: Create tag
         run: |
-          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
-          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
-          git tag v${{ steps.get_version.outputs.version }}
-          git push origin v${{ steps.get_version.outputs.version }}
+          TAG="v${{ steps.get_version.outputs.version }}"
+          if git rev-parse "$TAG" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "Tag $TAG already exists. Skipping tag creation."
+            exit 0
+          else
+            git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+            git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+            git tag "$TAG"
+            git push origin "$TAG"
+          fi
     outputs:
       version: ${{ steps.get_version.outputs.version }}
 
@@ -76,14 +82,9 @@ jobs:
           # with:
             #  repository-url: https://test.pypi.org/legacy/
 
-  # create github release
   create_release:
+    name: Create GitHub Release
     needs: [create_tag, publish_package]
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/create-release@v1
-        with:
-          tag_name: v${{ needs.create_tag.outputs.version }}
-          release_name: Release v${{ needs.create_tag.outputs.version }}
-          draft: false
-          prerelease: false
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/_create_github_release.yml
+    with:
+      version: ${{ needs.create_tag.outputs.version }}
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f6f8d35..637cb4a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 All notable changes to the [mlfmu] project will be documented in this file.<br>
 The changelog format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 
-## Unreleased
+## [1.0.3]
 
 ### Changed
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 499efe1..ef01e29 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -320,7 +320,16 @@ Hee Jong Park - [@LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/heejongpark/) - <hee.jon
 
 For your contribution, please make sure you follow the [STYLEGUIDE](STYLEGUIDE.md) before creating the Pull Request.
 
-For a new release, a push has to be made to the release branch. The recommended practice is to merge development PRs into main, and then, when one wants to release a new version, create a PR to push main into the release branch. The push into release should now automatically trigger an update of version numbering and create tags, using the `bump_my_version` package, and release it to GitHub and PyPi.
+### New releases
+
+The recommended practice is to merge development PRs into main, and then, when one wants to release a new version, create a PR to push main into the release branch.
+
+For a new release, please follow the next steps:
+
+1. Create a PR to merge all desired changes from the `main` to the `release` branch.
+1. After approval and merging, on GitHub, run the action "Bump version" on the `release` branch. This will create a new PR.
+1. On GitHub, access the PR created by bump-my-version, check, and approve (if all looks good).
+1. After approval and merging, on GitHub, run the action "Push to release" on the `release` branch. This will build everything and publish the package to PyPi, and create a new GitHub release.
 
 Note; version numbers are in: `CHANGELOG.md`, `pyproject.toml`, and `docs/source/conf.py` (and should be automatically updated by bump-my-version upon release).
 
diff --git a/docs/source/conf.py b/docs/source/conf.py
index a326fd9..7c52bf8 100644
--- a/docs/source/conf.py
+++ b/docs/source/conf.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 author = "Kristoffer Skare, Jorge Luis Mendez, Stephanie Kemna, Melih Akdag"
 
 # The full version, including alpha/beta/rc tags
-release = "1.0.2"
+release = "1.0.3"
 
 # -- General configuration ---------------------------------------------------
 # https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html#general-configuration
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 4de007a..365df17 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ packages = [
 
 [project]
 name = "mlfmu"
-version = "1.0.2"
+version = "1.0.3"
 description = "Export ML models represented as ONNX files to Functional-Mockup-Units (FMU)"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">= 3.10,<3.13"
@@ -163,19 +163,19 @@ reportUnnecessaryTypeIgnoreComment = "information"
 
 
 [tool.bumpversion]
-current_version = "1.0.2"
+current_version = "1.0.3"
 parse = "(?P<major>\\d+)\\.(?P<minor>\\d+)\\.(?P<patch>\\d+)"
 serialize = ["{major}.{minor}.{patch}"]
 search = "{current_version}"
 replace = "{new_version}"
 regex = false
 ignore_missing_version = false
-tag = true
+tag = false
 sign_tags = false
 tag_name = "v{new_version}"
 tag_message = "Bump version: {current_version} → {new_version}"
 allow_dirty = false
-commit = true
+commit = false
 message = "Bump version: {current_version} → {new_version}"
 commit_args = ""