Managing the contract lifecycle with manual processes can create contract management bottlenecks that waste time and energy. Fortunately, you can automate contract lifecycle management with contract management software tools that can streamline each stage of the contract lifecycle. Read on to discover how you can leverage the next best practice within our series by automating contract lifecycle management.
Contract lifecycle management automation unifies people, processes, and technology to streamline the contract management process from requests through renewals. Contract lifecycle management automation tools can empower organizations to streamline the pre-award and post-award contract management processes with comprehensive oversight. Contract lifecycle automation usually involves a leading CLM software that offers highly-configurable workflow features for end-to-end contract management efficiency.
Overseeing each stage of the contract lifecycle process can consume your time and energy while running the risk of human error in manually managing multiple documents. You can find yourself struggling to maximize contract performance throughout the entirety of the contract lifecycle. Fortunately, intelligent contract workflow automation reduces bottlenecks by connecting the right people at the right time with virtually unlimited task reminders and contract notifications.
You can leverage advanced reporting and analytics tools, contract process management, user-defined fields, audit trails, and more. Contract lifecycle automation tools can track every stage of the contract management process - including contract collaboration, contract negotiations, and approvals. AI-powered CLM software allows you to anticipate milestones and key dates - including contract renewals - with integrated automated alerts. Moreover, contract lifecycle management services support audit trail history that tracks up-to-date contract changes. Automated CLM process flow can help you focus on contract performance management by allowing you to concentrate more on the content of contracts.
Contract generation can be challenging, especially with multiple people involved. Creating, reviewing, and revising contracts can consume large amounts of your time and energy. Manual contract assembly can increase errors when static documents become obsolete and parties involved are unaware of the most up-to-date templates and versions. Clauses, contract language, and templates that are not current or standardized can increase the risk of inadvertently creating non-compliant contracts.
Fortunately, an integrated CLM tool for automated contract assembly can streamline your contract management processes with intelligent contract management software that centralizes and automates the creation of agreements, contracts, and documents. You can leverage contract lifecycle management services to create compliant contracts that seamlessly merge with your organization’s approved data fields and clauses. A leading CLM tool supports merging various document versions and templates within a pre-approved clause library. Those involved in the contract drafting process can remain aware of its evolution with version tracking tools. With the ability to assign multiple system administrators, you can also gain better control over contract access by configuring user permissions with robust approval routing and audit trail capabilities.
Gathering required signatures for a contract can prove difficult, especially when signees are in different locations. This highly anticipated step that finalizes contracts and propels their execution can be delayed with manual wet signatures. Fortunately, electronic signatures can make signing contracts a breeze with contract lifecycle management software that empowers signees to sign in the office or remotely – especially with the help of a CLM software mobile app. Additionally, you can leverage the use of digital signatures that virtually ensure a signature's date of signing and that it was untampered with thereafter - reducing the need for a licensed notary. Watch the video below to learn about CobbleStone’s electronic signature software: IntelliSign®.
Reviewing contract risk can be time-consuming and challenging. Manually assessing risk factors can cost your organization extra time and money while increasing the risk of inadvertent human oversights. Thankfully, advanced CLM software with artificial intelligence and machine learning can identify up-to-date risk variables and notify you of overlooked risk factors. You can also assess if entities are compliant under the Office of Foreign Asset Control’s national sanctions lists through an integrated OFAC search functionality offered by a leading contract management software. AI-powered contract management software can also provide your organization with a risk assessment matrix that displays risk exposure and risk probability patterns in a visually engaging and easy-to-digest manner for robust contract risk management oversight.
Tracking contracts with an approach involving emails, spreadsheets, shared drives, and other manual processes can create an inefficient and ineffective contract lifecycle process. Manually tracking contracts can place your organization at risk for compliance issues, contractual failure, and financial instability – to name a few. Contract filing and tracking processes relying on disparate folders from ranging sources can hinder version control and increase the possibility of overall loss to your organization’s bottom line.
While spreadsheets can organize contracts, they cannot alert contract managers of vital opportunities and warnings, including contract version tracking alerts and opportunity alerts in upcoming contract renewals – which are crucial to post-award contract management success. These methods can undermine the contract tracking process with unclear audit trails, continually changing timelines, and other delays caused by disparate CLM processes.
Click below to leverage a manual contract management spreadsheet tracker.
Luckily, leading contract management software can equip your organization with the proper tools to track contracts effectively and efficiently. A centralized contract management software solution provides advanced contract tracking with comprehensive audit trails and performance insights for improved contract collaboration. You can track contracts throughout the entire lifecycle with the help of task alerts and notifications that can be configured via email - especially with the help of an MS Outlook PC Helper-App.
Robust contract tracking features can enable you to track contract compliance, obligations, and renewals with robust and timely oversight. Rather than only utilizing a contract repository system, you can leverage automated contract lifecycle management processes that assist with each stage of the contract lifecycle and offer seamless collaboration for stakeholders within a user-friendly CLM tool.
Easily implement this key contract management best practice of contract lifecycle automation with CobbleStone Contract Insight - a CLM software Leader, according to Forrester. To see CobbleStone Contract Insight in action, book your free demo.
CobbleStone's trusted, award-winning, fully integrated contract management software streamlines the contract management process with optimal governance, reduced friction, and high flexibility from contract requests to renewals. CobbleStone continues to be a visionary leader in CLM software for over twenty years and is trusted by thousands of contract managers. CobbleStone's user-friendly, robust, and scalable solution seamlessly integrates with mission-critical applications, including MS Word and MS Outlook, for unified and seamless contract management.
Are you interested in future-minded contract management software tools? Watch the 6 Critical Contract Management Tools for 2021 video below to learn how to leverage industry-leading CLM software tools for streamlined, user-friendly, and low-friction contract lifecycle management success!
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