DM1805

FEATURE: CONTRACT MANAGEMENT Dm
"AUTOMATING THE CREATION AND APPROVALS PROCESS FOR CREATING
CONTRACTS IS A HUGE BENEFIT OF USING A SOFTWARE SOLUTION, WITH
LEGALLY BINDING DOCUMENTS NECESSITATING A LARGE NUMBER OF
ORGANISATIONAL 'TOUCH-POINTS' FOR CREATING CONTRACTS. BY
AUTOMATING THE PROCESS, THERE WILL BE VISIBILITY OF WHERE THE
CONTRACTS ARE AT ANY POINT - WHO THEY ARE WITH, WHAT TASKS
REMAIN BEFORE THIS CONTRACT CAN BE CREATED AND GO LIVE, ETC. THIS
WILL KEEP CONTRACTS MOVING AND BUSINESS FLOWING."
actually provide the evidence. But how
exactly would the technology help to
underpin these processes? Here we list
the key roles that technology would
play in an organisation; how it could
provide centralisation, deadline
control, workflow automation,
reporting and compliance adherence.
1. Centralising contracts and contract
data
The biggest problem of not using
technology to support and manage
contracts is storage - they can end up
being stored anywhere, by anyone,
and if a key individual leaves the
business, there's a real risk nobody
knows exactly where the vital contract
documentation can be located.
But having a centralised system in
place reduces the risk of losing
contracts, as centralisation also means
better collaboration - any and all
contracts will have been created by a
number of people within the
organisation and storing it in a
centralised repository means everyone
can access it easily, securely and in a
straightforward manner.
2. Deadline monitoring
Technology can alert all users to key
dates within the contract
automatically. By using a Contract
Management system, when contracts
are approaching their expiry dates an
email alert will be sent to prompt for
renewal, prompting proper handling
and awareness of all the related items
that an organisation will want to be
reminded of (e.g. each out to the
contractual partner regularly). There
may well be opportunities to earn
more revenue by contacting the
customer early and renewing the
contract instead of letting it run on
when the contract has expired, too.
3. Workflow
Automating the creation and
approvals process for creating
contracts is a huge benefit of using a
software solution, with legally binding
documents necessitating a large
number of organisational 'touchpoints'
for creating contracts. By
automating the process, there will be
visibility of where the contracts are at
any point - who they are with, what
tasks remain before this contract can
be created and go live, etc. This will
keep contracts moving and business
flowing. Such automation will also
heavily reduce contract creation time -
in some customer cases I've been a
witness to, by up to 50%.
4. Reporting
A Contract Management tool can
provide self-generated or automated,
standardised reports on any
information contained in the system.
Reports can be generated on KPIs on a
range of metrics including risk
management, say, depending on the
risk level of certain contracts.
Dashboard reports also, of course,
provide greater visibility of the status
of any of the contracts within the
system and into any of the data on the
contracts being managed.
5. Compliance
Contracts hold incredibly sensitive
corporate information, so it's vital that
they are stored in a secure manner.
Contract management technology will
offer that reassurance, solidifying
compliance and legal requirements,
and ensuring that the correct
information can be accessed when
needed either internally, by a partner
firm, or an auditor.
In conclusion, there's simply no
excuse to let contract management
remain the Cinderella of business
processes: document managementbased
technology really does help to
make contract management a more
integrated process, a vital step if
businesses want to stop risking
wasting money.
More info:
www.easysoftware.co.uk/solutions/
easy-contract
www.document-manager.com
May/June 2018
@DMMagAndAwards
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