Contracts are a business’s lifeblood but are also incredibly difficult to manage digitally from initiation through execution, ongoing management and contract renewal. In addition, contracting processes can be prone to human error and inconsistency which can lead to delays and bottlenecks.
For decades, Contract Lifecycle Management tools have struggled to bring the analogue process of contracts into the digital age. They have either attempted to solve the entire contracting journey or been a collection of specialized tools.
Create Contracts
Contracting is a vital part of every business. These essential documents set everything from product pricing and channel management to shipping and routing — and ultimately affect how companies buy, sell, and run. Despite the importance of contracts, legal and commercial teams often struggle with contract creation and approval processes. These bottlenecks can cost businesses millions in lost productivity.
Until recently, the only way to tackle the problem was to invest in custom enterprise contract tools that were highly customizable and required months, if not years, for implementation. More recently, a number of new vendors like Apttus and Icertis created end-to-end CLM software that is easy to implement and can be used immediately.
These platforms also make the process of importing and analyzing contracts faster, more consistent, and more efficient — all within familiar collaboration tools like Slack or Teams. Best-in-breed contract management solutions even allow businesses to create contracts in self-service mode based on defined business rules. This helps legal and business users eliminate the need to email drafts back and forth, allowing for a much faster turnaround time during the contracting process.
The eSignature capabilities in these modern CLM systems make it possible to sign contracts with a single click. Reminders can be automatically sent to stakeholders for every stage of the contract approval pipeline, and it’s simple to see who has reviewed or approved each document and who still needs to review them.
Track Contracts
Just like wrangling a hiking buddy to agree on which trail to take or who is providing the snacks, getting everyone on board with contract terms requires some internal collaboration. This process can get thorny as a contract progresses through the review and approval stages.
To reduce the number of teams that need to touch a contract and slow down progress, Contract Lifecycle Management tools streamline workflows so stakeholders can access contracts at every stage and stay up-to-speed with what needs to be done next. For instance, some CLM solutions have kanban boards that make it easy for legal and business users to collaborate on the review and approval of contracts. Others offer e-signature features to eliminate manual processing and speed up contract execution.
Contract lifecycle management tools provide a complete picture of contracting, including advanced reporting capabilities. Leaders can access dashboards and high-level reports to quickly view performance results, while platforms summarize more detailed data that is tailored to specific stakeholders.
Streamline contract processes to reduce costs and free up your legal team for more strategic work. With a comprehensive, flexible and scalable platform, you can create contract templates, automate repetitive tasks, integrate with other business systems and drive greater contracting value. To discover the right solution for your organization, schedule a demo of Sirion’s leading contract management technology today.
Approve Contracts
Contract approvals are a key stage in the contract lifecycle. They ensure that all parties have access to a valid, updated contract and prevent inconsistencies and delays in the process. Contract approvals are also a vital step for managing compliance and minimizing legal risk. For example, a missed deadline or an improperly edited contract can create serious liability problems for a company. The best contract management software makes it easy to track and manage changes. It records all versions of contracts, provides easy access to the most recent version, and allows users to view the entire contract history to mitigate risks.
After wrangling your hiking buddy into going on a trek, the final hurdle is getting them to sign on the dotted line. This is the easiest part of any contract negotiation, but even so, it can cause a lot of headaches if it isn’t handled correctly. CLM software helps companies manage this stage efficiently by separating internal approvals from signatures and providing clear processes for both. It also integrates with e-signature platforms to speed up the turnaround time for contract approval and ensure that all parties have an easy, convenient way to sign contracts.
Contracts are essential for commerce to exist, but they can be very complicated to manage, especially in large organizations. Traditional contract management tools attempt to bring this analogue process into the digital age, but they are often cumbersome and inconsistent. When the best Contract Lifecycle Management tools are used, however, they can reduce friction and improve performance and profitability.
Sign Contracts
Once you’ve finalized the contract with internal approvals, it’s time to get that signature. Good CLM software will separate the approvals (internal sign-offs) from the actual signing (physically putting pen to paper). The software will keep track of the status and turnaround for each, so you can make sure you’re on target to have the contracts signed before your deadlines. It will also integrate with e-signature platforms like DocuSign to make it easy for your clients to put their name down online.
Contract creation can be one of the most labor-intensive parts of your contracting process, so it is important to find a tool that streamlines and automates this step. Best-of-breed solutions allow you to create contracts without leaving the system by using a data-rich contract authoring environment that can take in data from line-of-business systems, such as CRM, sourcing or procurement. This can help you achieve faster routes to revenue and reduce legal operating expenses during the contracting cycle.