By Rob Hayden
Before I knew what contract management was, I used to manage approximately 10-15 service contracts using my own ‘system’ of email, flat files, spreadsheets, clause print-outs and general knowledge recall. I prided myself on my ability to repeat clauses, milestones and contract deliverables in meetings with relative ease. The system I had was sufficient, cost effective and manageable...or so I thought.
Fast forward 10 years and I realise that despite my best endeavours, my system was ultimately flawed. How much time was lost in searching and reviewing contracts to get the information I needed?
The 10-15 contracts I managed was perhaps fine under this model, but what would happen if that number drastically increased? Would I still manage them efficiently if it became 20 or 30 or even 100?
At some stage, control and efficiency would be lost, and I would be fire-fighting – not to mention highly stressed. I would at some stage, reach a tipping point. The tipping point is defined as “the critical point in an evolving situation at which a minor development precipitates a crisis”.
In the case of contract management specifically, I regularly talk to companies that are managing their day to day operations, and contracts using a manual system similar to mine. The consistent message has been that this has worked well while the business has been running smooth and steady, but a sudden spike in orders and sales, or a loss of key personnel for example, has meant that the model is unsustainable – they have ultimately reached their tipping point.
Like my own experience, these companies have realised that their previously comfortable manual processes can quickly become inefficient, with increased risk, in a time when the focus should be on business as usual or business growth.
Queue Agiloft
At SaaSam we take the best of breed business process software and configure the code-free application completely to your requirements. From the simplest contract repository, to the most complex and intricate contract lifecycle, all bases are covered.
Businesses that have chosen the Agiloft advantage with SaaSam, no longer need worry about the tipping point – and the cost and time savings are just the start. If only I’d known this 10 years ago.
