What’s Slowing Down Your Company’s Contract Processing Time?
For most companies, reviewing and processing contracts can take a great deal of time and effort. Taking an agreement from creation to execution requires multiple steps, including drafting, approval, and signing.
There can be delays at each point in the negotiation process, making it even more difficult for contract managers to complete tasks and communicate changes. This reality means it’s essential for all parties to meet their respective obligations.
Contract negotiation is fraught with challenges. Having a clear understanding of contract lifecycle management will allow you to navigate the process with ease.
What Is Contract Lifecycle Management?
Contract lifecycle management (CLM) involves the development of specific policies and practices that are focused on completing contracts from beginning to end. Modern CLM is the process of breaking down the contract lifecycle and building control mechanisms that work to achieve desired outcomes.
The use of CLM impacts how quickly any agreement will be carried out and to what extent its terms are abided by. By simplifying the negotiation process, CLM makes it easy for companies to benefit from partnerships. When CLM isn’t done well, companies miss out on important opportunities.
So What’s Holding Up Your Contracts?
CLM relies on a streamlined negotiation process that allows each party to voice its concerns and make changes as needed before the agreement is executed. This malleability is crucial to the long-term health of every contract.
There are many potential factors that could be holding up your contracts. When negotiations move quickly, companies need to keep up. Remember these common issues when you’re considering making improvements to your contract lifecycle management:
1. Making Changes
The negotiation process involves a lot of back and forth. Sometimes changes need to be made. However, it can be difficult to ensure each party is aware of changes, which can impede the execution of contracts.
CLM provides a set of processes for negotiators to make adjustments. This framework speeds up the negotiation process and ensures that changes are communicated to all parties as soon as possible.
2. Getting Approvals
Communication is key to getting approvals. For contract managers, getting signatures from everybody involved can be difficult. As soon as one individual signs a document, changes need to be made, rendering the signature useless. More roadblocks mean less value for every contract.
Everybody needs to be on the same page before the signing process takes place. All parties have to be present and accounted for traditional contracts to be executed. With contract lifecycle management, companies have clear guidelines for making changes in real-time, making it easier to get everyone to sign on.
3. Unnecessary Meetings
Traditionally, companies have relied on in-person meetings to make announcements, discuss errors, and finalize requirements. This reliance, however, is no longer necessary. With access to centralized tools and software for sharing and managing data, companies can eliminate wasteful practices.
Meetings are an inefficient way to deal with contracts. Rather than waste time, companies can use contract lifecycle management best practices to make sure everybody’s on the same page about contracts. This approach allows contract managers to keep their commitments without added overhead.
4. Missed Deadlines
It’s essential for contracts to be executed on time. After doing their due diligence, companies should work to get through the negotiation process as quickly as possible. Having a central point of authority for tracking deadlines and managing documents is essential for larger operations.
Contract lifecycle management allows decision-makers to set deadlines and make sure everybody reaches them. With CLM, companies can quickly respond to problems and make the needed corrections. This responsiveness allows contracts to be fulfilled without unnecessary delays.
5. Manual Processes
Traditionally, companies have had to manually track the life cycles of their contracts. This process involved a great deal of work and could result in more errors. Having access to a digital platform for managing contracts removes the human element, ensuring mistakes are minimized.
The right policies can dramatically improve contract lifecycle management. With intelligent CLM practices, you can effectively create and manage documents, track changes, and communicate deadlines. This setup makes it easy to find important information and complete the contract lifecycle with fewer issues.
What Is a CMS?
For most organizations, managing contract lifecycles means more investments and greater risk.
Continuous monitoring and improvement of CLM systems can quickly get out of hand, especially for smaller companies or those operating on a budget. With a contract management system, users have all they need to ensure their CLM goals are met.
A contract management system (CMS) allows companies to mitigate potential risks across the contract lifecycle. CMS software permits users to build deeper relationships while going through the negotiation process, thus optimizing profits and eliminating inefficiencies.
How Can a CMS Improve Contract Lifecycle Management?
Having access to a supportive CMS is essential for businesses that want to optimize their CLM processes. With the right partner, businesses can create, alter, and execute contracts without worrying about making mistakes. CLM software allows you to fully realize the potential of your agreements with modern tools for managing each step from start to finish.
A CMS improves CLM by ensuring contracts are clearly outlined and available to all parties. The use of a CMS for CLM improves governance capabilities and offers decision-makers greater oversight at a lower cost. With automated services, companies can manage their contracts easier than ever before.
Speed Up Your Contract Processing Time with Malbek
Do you need assistance with your CLM process? Don’t waste time and energy in the negotiation process. At Malbek, we work with you to simplify your contract lifecycle management from start to finish. You won’t be disappointed in our transformative contract management services.
We offer state-of-the-art CLM services designed to take advantage of modern analytics and AI capabilities. Our suite will take you from pre-approval through completion, so you have the intelligence to review contracts before they’re executed. Whether you’re in legal, sales, or procurement, we’re here to assist you with your contracts.
Malbek is reimagining how contracts are executed. We empower contractors by transforming CLM for the modern world. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Request a demo today!
