There really isn’t one precise model of what’s included in the contract lifecycle, but the stages in the previous FAQ are a good working guideline to what you should expect in a CLM system. With the right digital contract lifecycle management in place, users can quickly and easily request, initiate, track, measure, and execute contracts and related documents by leveraging the user-friendly features located in the dashboard of your contract automation software. Permissions will vary according to company needs, but generally a user will either open an existing contract or create a new one starting with a pre-approved contract template. The contents of the contract, assuming the vendor contract management software includes data integration with ERP, CRM, financial, and other systems, can then be easily populated using a few clicks and drop-down menus, including the clause library. A good CLM system features automated workflow for contract review and approvals, integrated document creation – such as MS Word – and email for negotiations, as well as electronic signature capability. Once executed, managing contract milestones, obligations, KPIs, and automated alerts are built-in to better control contract compliance and performance measurement.

Contracts house valuable data needed for companies to remain compliant with regulations and prevent or respond to legal disputes. But the number of contracts, their complexity, and the volume of data associated with them have grown beyond what companies and stakeholders can manage without the assistance of CLM technology. A contract management platform makes it fast and simple to find and administer contracts, measure performance – such as supplier procurement KPIs – ensure compliance, monitor risk and alerts, enact reporting, and other tasks that are arduous or impossible with manual methods. The first objective of digital contract lifecycle management is to increase visibility into the company’s entire contract assets. With litigation and data proliferation on the rise, not going digital in your CM practices will cost you more time and likely more money if you are still using manual contracting processes versus digital.

A contract management – or contract lifecycle management (CLM) – software solution provides full-time, automated contract monitoring and helps optimize each stage of the contract lifecycle. Automated processes include: workflows for contract review, approvals, and signatures, making it easy for anyone in an organization to initiate contracts from within familiar applications and devices; creation tasks, like dynamically inserting required language for specific clauses and terms, and tracking clause- and provision-level changes, with a goal of total compliance with minimum effort; identifying changes between versions that have not been redlined, discouraging “stealth” changes that can undermine contract integrity; configuring parallel and serial approval workflows to match the idiosyncrasies of any contract to eliminate bottlenecks and minimize costly delays; uploading of hard copies through OCR and other technologies; fulfillment tracking and automated alerts linked to expirations, renewals, and key events, post-execution workflows; identifying contract renewal candidates, alerting managers in time to act and/or automatically create new contract drafts based on the contract in force.

There are a lot of moving parts to any business deal and lot of places for legal risk to creep in and opportunity to fall through the cracks. Procurement needs to manage and monitor relationships across the supply chain, as well as ensure compliance with spend management policies. Sales wants to speed the cycle to keep business moving monthly, quarterly, and yearly without delays and bottlenecks. Human Resources has to manage a shifting and growing workforce of full-time and contract employees. Operations has ongoing maintenance and replacement requirements for fleets, facilities, and equipment. And of course, Legal needs to ensure adherence to an expanding and changing list of regulatory and industry rules. All of these areas require fast, easy, and full access to new and existing contracts, something that is only possible with cloud-based contract management software technology integrated across enterprise systems – like ERP and CRM – that leaves no room for anything but efficiency, productivity, and compliance.

As a source-to-pay, order-to-cash, fleet solutions, or other professional, you need to focus on making better, more informed decisions and delivering sustainable bottom line impact, and not get distracted by clerical contract issues. That’s why so many leading companies around the world rely on Corcentric’s modular, integrated, SaaS platform-based best-of-breed repository system and other solutions. Our unique format enables companies in highly-regulated industries to implement as few or as many solutions as they need for accessible cost of entry, lower TCO, and faster ROI. Corcentric Contract Lifecycle Management provides:

• A single source of verified contract data for complete spend and risk control
• Dynamic contract workflows for agility and collaboration
• Total adaptability to existing processes and contract rules
• Complete contract self-service user configurability without the need for costly IT resources
• CLM solution technology that meets your contract and risk goals now, with the flexibility to add on additional procurement, sourcing, supplier management, and other functionality quickly and easily as business needs grow

As business in general and contracts in particular become more integrated, complex, and sophisticated, Corcentric is thinking ahead to advanced technology features based on artificial intelligence (AI), block chain, RPA, and other machine-learning tools. Learn more by downloading our CLM Starter Kit.