In the fast-paced world of business, time is money. Whether you're finalising a deal with a new client, securing a crucial vendor partnership, or renewing an existing contract, delays in the contract lifecycle can have a significant impact on your bottom line. Yet, for many organisations, manual contract creation, negotiation, and approval processes are still the norm. These processes are often slow and error-prone, causing delays that can lead to missed opportunities and operational bottlenecks. Moreover, the lack of standardisation in these manual processes can result in inconsistencies in contract terms, further complicating matters.
The good news is that there is a solution: Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) systems. By automating the creation, negotiation, and approval of contracts, CLM systems significantly reduce the time and effort required to manage contracts. This leads to faster contract cycles, improved efficiency, and a more streamlined operation overall. In this blog post, we’ll explore the pain points associated with manual contract management and highlight how CLM systems can help your organisation accelerate contract cycles with automated workflows.
The Pain Points of Manual Contract Management
Manual contract management processes have long been a source of frustration for businesses of all sizes. Despite advances in technology, many organisations still rely on outdated methods to create, negotiate, and approve contracts. These manual processes are not only slow and cumbersome but also prone to errors and inconsistencies that can create serious challenges.
1. Slow Contract Creation and Approval Processes
One of the most significant pain points of manual contract management is the time it takes to create and approve contracts. Without automation, drafting a contract often involves multiple steps, including gathering information from various sources, manually entering data, and ensuring that all necessary clauses are included. This process can be time-consuming, particularly for complex contracts or those that require input from multiple stakeholders.
Once the contract is drafted, the approval process can be even more challenging. Contracts are often reviewed and approved by several departments such as legal, finance, and procurement. Without a standardised workflow, this process can drag on for days or even weeks, leading to delays in closing deals and slowing down business operations.
2. Error-Prone and Inconsistent Negotiation Processes
Negotiating contracts manually is another area where businesses can encounter significant challenges. When contracts are negotiated without the aid of a CLM system, there is a higher risk of errors such as missing important clauses, incorrect data entry, or failing to track changes effectively. These errors can lead to misunderstandings between parties, resulting in disputes or even legal issues down the line.
In addition to the risk of errors, manual negotiation processes often lack consistency. Different departments or individuals may use different templates or approaches, leading to variations in contract terms that can create confusion and complicate enforcement. This lack of standardisation can also make it difficult to ensure that all contracts comply with company policies or regulatory requirements.
3. Bottlenecks in Operations
The cumulative effect of slow, error-prone, and inconsistent contract management processes is a bottleneck in operations. When contracts take too long to create, negotiate, and approve, it can delay key business activities, such as launching new projects, securing funding, or entering new markets. These delays can have a ripple effect throughout the organisation, leading to missed opportunities, frustrated stakeholders, and a negative impact on the bottom line.
The Benefits of Automating Contract Management with a CLM System
Given the significant challenges associated with manual contract management, it’s clear that a more efficient solution is needed. That solution is a CLM system. By automating the creation, negotiation, and approval processes, CLM systems offer a range of benefits that can help your organisation overcome these pain points and accelerate contract cycles.
1. Faster Contract Creation with Automated Workflows
One of the most immediate benefits of implementing a CLM system is the ability to automate the contract creation process. A CLM system provides standardised templates that include all necessary clauses, ensuring that contracts are created consistently and in compliance with company policies. Additionally, the system can automatically populate contracts with data from your CRM or other business systems, reducing the need for manual data entry and minimising the risk of errors.
Automated workflows guide contracts through the creation process, ensuring that all necessary steps are completed quickly and efficiently. For example, a CLM system can automatically route a contract to the appropriate stakeholders for review, send reminders when action is needed, and track the status of each contract in real-time. This not only speeds up the creation process but also ensures that contracts are accurate and complete before they are sent for approval.
2. Streamlined Negotiation with Version Control and Collaboration Tools
Negotiating contracts is another area where CLM systems can have a significant impact. With a CLM system, all changes to a contract are tracked automatically, providing a clear version history that makes it easy to see who made what changes and when. This reduces the risk of errors and misunderstandings during the negotiation process.
CLM systems also include collaboration tools that allow multiple stakeholders to review and comment on a contract simultaneously. This eliminates the need for back-and-forth emails and makes it easier to resolve issues and reach agreement quickly. Moreover, the system can enforce standard terms and conditions, ensuring that all contracts adhere to company policies and reducing the risk of inconsistencies.
3. Accelerated Approval Processes with Automated Routing
The approval process is often one of the biggest bottlenecks in contract management, but a CLM system can help eliminate this bottleneck by automating the routing of contracts for approval. Instead of manually sending a contract to each approver, a CLM system automatically routes the contract based on predefined workflows. This ensures that contracts are reviewed in the correct order and by the right people, without delays.
In addition, a CLM system can send automated reminders to approvers, reducing the risk of contracts getting stuck in someone’s inbox. The system can also provide real-time visibility into the status of each contract, allowing stakeholders to see exactly where a contract is in the approval process and take action if needed.
4. Improved Efficiency and Reduced Bottlenecks
The combined effect of faster contract creation, streamlined negotiation, and accelerated approval processes is a significant improvement in overall efficiency. By automating these processes, a CLM system reduces the time and effort required to manage contracts, allowing your team to focus on more strategic tasks. This leads to faster contract cycles, fewer operational bottlenecks, and a smoother, more efficient business operation.
Accelerate Contract Cycles with CLM Automation
Organisations can’t afford to let manual contract management processes slow them down. The delays, errors, and inconsistencies associated with manual processes can create significant challenges, leading to missed opportunities and operational inefficiencies.
SaaSam is a recognised partner of Agiloft and we have been leveraging Agiloft’s no-code CLM platform for 12+ years. By implementing an Agiloft Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) system, your organisation can overcome these challenges and accelerate contract cycles with automated workflows. A CLM system streamlines the creation, negotiation, and approval of contracts, reducing bottlenecks and enabling your team to manage contracts with speed and accuracy. The result is a more efficient, agile organisation that can close deals faster, respond to market opportunities more effectively, and stay ahead of the competition.
If your business is struggling with slow and error-prone contract management processes, now is the time to consider investing in a CLM system. With the right tools in place, you can transform your contract management process, improve efficiency, and drive better business outcomes.
If your organisation would like to make the jump to a higher level of contract management maturity with the Agiloft Contract Lifecycle Management solution, reach out to SaaSam using the form here.
About SaaSam
SaaSam is a global software consulting and implementation provider, with a proud association and history of delivering solutions through software. SaaSam has been leveraging some of the world’s most innovative no-code and low-code software platforms that empower our customers to drive business outcomes.
SaaSam is headquartered in Cambridge, New Zealand. We have a team of 26 expert employees spread across five company offices in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, the European Union (Ireland), and the United States. SaaSam has long-standing relationships with a diverse range of successful organisations across the following industries: IT and Telecommunications, Finance and Banking, Primary Industries (mining and horticulture), Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology, Utilities, Government bodies and many others.
Our culture, driven by values of Integrity, Innovation, Commitment, Passion, and Accountability, embodies the Kiwi spirit.
