Contract Insights

Contracts are legally binding - and thus need to be executed properly.  Legal teams should equip themselves with a thorough understanding of the contract lifecycle management process.  The contract lifecycle is the process under which a contract is authored, reviewed, sent for signature, executed, and - potentially - renewed. 

The "lifecycle" is an archetype used to compartmentalize and understand a contract's complex evolution.  The lifecycle begins with contract requests and concludes when these requests are fulfilled - with the possibility of managing contract renewal.  Let's further explore the eight stages of the contract lifecycle below and how digital contract management software can help streamline your contracting processes. 

DBE supplier tracking becomes easier when the right tools are in place.

Whether you’re a local municipality, city, state, or federal agency, chances are you have a goal defined for awarding contracts to disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE). Government agencies operate on “good faith” that they will make the conscious effort to consider these businesses when awarding new contracts. The problem, like managing any other contract, is the work involved to ensure that all criteria is being met and certifications are processed.

Why Communication can Make or Break a Successful Acquisition and Improve Contract Management

Improving Contract Management is not an easy process. There are numerous steps that are involved with the acquisition process. From identifying the initial needs, all the way down to monitoring performance once a contract has been awarded will require multiple people – sometimes from different departments – to get involved. If too many people are contributing to the acquisition process, but aren’t making the effort to communicate with one another internally then the process can be unsuccessful from the start. This creates a communication gap. Not only is effective communication imperative to a successful acquisition process and improving contract management, but an open dialogue with the industry and potential vendors is too.

 CobbleStone is proud to announce that the 2018 CobbleStone Conference is happening this November 7th-9th in Philadelphia! With contract AI, machine learning, risk migration, and more, this conference is set to be our best one yet.