Contract Lifecycle Management 101

Completing contracts in a timely manner tends to be a bottleneck for many organizations. Those who work with(in) the contract process (employees, customers, suppliers) all agree that the process is both inefficient and ineffective. Why then doesn't it get fixed? The answer lies in the fact that for many organizations no one person owns the contract process. For other organizations the answer lies in the fact that employees are so swamped working in the business that they can make no time to work on the business. How do I know if my organization can reap significant benefits from improving its contract process?

 

Is your organization a good candidate for CLM?

Below are a few questions that will help you better understand if your organization is a good candidate for CLM. Does your organization use contracts to process a significant portion of its revenue and/or spend? Is it widely accepted that your organization's contract process is a bottleneck? Is it unclear which person in your organization is responsible for improving your contract process? Would real-time access to the strategic information lying trapped in your contract files lead to faster and more profitable decision-making? Is your contract process primarily an ad hoc manual paper-based system relying on MS Word and email attachments? Are most of your contracts executed on your paper? If you answered "YES" to 3 or more of these questions it is likely CLM can create significant value for your organization.