Contract management professionals of all types are in the age of digital transformation. Organizations need to correctly leverage contract management tools to adapt successfully. As with any practice, mistakes in contract management are quite possible. Contract management teams leveraging obsolete, manual methods are even more likely to commit CLM errors – resulting in contract lifecycle bottlenecks, missed key dates and milestones, and lost revenue. Mistakes in contract management must be avoided. Read this blog to discover six common mistakes in contract management – and how they can be evaded with the help of contract management software.
Mistake #1 - Relying on Manual Contract Management
Countless mistakes can be made during the oversight of the contract lifecycle. Many organizations make the mistake of managing the contract lifecycle with disparate emails and spreadsheets regarding stages and tasks. Using these disorganized methods to keep track of contract lifecycle stages and tasks can lead to confusion, contract lifecycle bottlenecks, missed tasks, overlooked key dates and milestones, missed opportunities, and decreased revenue.
Avoid It With Automated Contract Lifecycle Management!
Organizations can easily avoid the mistakes mentioned above in favor of automated contract lifecycle management software to save time, decrease costs, increase overall revenue, and enjoy a low-friction, scalable, and efficient contract process for oversight of the complete contract lifecycle.
Leading CLM software solutions can support organizations with a user-friendly interface for CLM - including:
- automated contract requests.
- a simplified contract authoring process that supports the streamlined merging of contracts with templates from an organization's approved clause library.
- a unified process for contract negotiation, collaboration, review, and approval routing.
- robust contract analytics and data tracking.
- automated key date and task notifications.
- granular yet user-friendly risk management, risk mitigation, and risk analysis tools.
- simplified process configuration and tracking for specified contract types for various industries.
- seamlessly integrated RFx management (including for RFPs).
- user-friendly searching and reporting, including an ad hoc and custom report designer.
Don’t make the mistake of relying on scattered emails and spreadsheets. Instead, reap the benefits of automated contract lifecycle management software tools!
Mistake #2 - Using Lackluster Contract Storage Methods
Outdated methods for contract storage - such as those relying on filing cabinets for paper documentation, simple spreadsheets, documents saved only within emails, and saving documents locally on one’s computer – can lead to the loss of critical contracts, document versions, and essential data. Those procedures can make it nearly impossible for organizations to maintain version control, keep contracts protected and secure, stay abreast of key dates and milestones, or enforce archiving and retention rules.
Avoid It With a Secure Contract Repository!
Organizations can easily avoid mistakes regarding contract storage with a secure contract repository!
A web-enabled, secure contract repository can allow contracts to be safely stored. Organizations can easily oversee contracts, employ document version tracking, enforce audit trails, track contracts, search for stored contracts, enhance document collaboration, and so much more.
As the contract lifecycle progresses, sensitive and confidential information can be stored and tracked within a secure contract repository. Organizations can place access restrictions on personally identifiable information (PII), payment card information (PCI), and other sensitive data with contract intelligence within a contract management software platform!
Speaking of contract artificial intelligence...
Mistake #3 - Passing on the Benefits of Contract AI
Without leading contract intelligence, organizations are missing an opportunity not only to safeguard sensitive data (as mentioned above), but they are also needlessly complicating the management of contract data within contract documents. They can increase risk due to a lack of robust risk management, leading to detrimental oversights that lead to legal issues, costly breaches of contracts, and a damaged organizational reputation.
Avoid It With Leading-edge Contract Artificial Intelligence!
With AI-powered contract management software, organizations' contract processes can be significantly streamlined and automated. Contract management teams can put their trust in a proven solution for analyzing contracts and converting static, stale documents into dynamic, ROI-boosting building blocks for improved contract oversight, proactive opportunity identification, and risk management. Contract AI powered by machine learning can assist organizations in reaping the most from contracts.
Intelligent contract clause identification and data extraction can promote continuous machine learning for an exponentially improved process. AI-powered contract intelligence supports the location of standard clauses within documents when they are introduced to contract management software.
Organizations can leverage contract AI to pinpoint potential risk and mitigate it. Leading contract intelligence can analyze text from newly introduced documents and identify "good or bad" language – per a pre-configured, rules-based sentiment. Integrated contract artificial intelligence can also pinpoint sensitive data, run statistical data analysis, and provide helpful risk mitigation recommendations based upon real-time data.
Mistake #4 - Time-wasting, Error-prone Contract Writing & Doc Assembly
Organizations can mistakenly draft error-prone documents thanks to:
- data entry errors.
- contract collaboration bottlenecks.
- the aforementioned document storage issues.
- a lack of mission-critical contract authoring and document assembly integrations.
- a lack of process and CLM awareness.
- a lack of version tracking.
Avoid It With Automated Document Assembly!
Organizations can avoid the mistakes mentioned above by streamlining and automating the assembly of contracts, agreements, and other mission-critical documents with the help of contract lifecycle management software. Leading document assembly software allows contract management teams to enforce compliance and minimize data entry errors, collaboration bottlenecks, and document storage issues.
Organizations can quickly assemble compliant, accurate, and timely contracts and documents that merge approved data fields and clauses. Contract management teams can manage numerous document versions and templates – and easily export them into standard file formats. For example, CobbleStone Contract Insight® provides mission-critical MS Word, MS Outlook, Google Workspace, and MS Office 365 plug-ins - as well as their own CobbleStone in-system online document editing interface. These tools make contract document editing unprecedently easy, centralized, and timely. Organizations can keep relevant stakeholders up-to-date with robust version tracking to speed processes up and keep everyone looped in.
Mistake #5 - Contract Tracking With Only Spreadsheets & Emails
Tracking contracts with spreadsheets and emails alone can lead organizations to miss contract performance insights, missed contract lifecycle steps, and a lack of audit trails and contract analytics. A contract tracking spreadsheet specifically dedicated to CLM – such as CobbleStone’s contract tracking spreadsheet – is a step above the aforementioned methods, but organizations can do more.
Avoid It With Intelligent Contract Tracking With CLM Software!
Leading contract lifecycle management software can support organizations with improved with advanced contract tracking. Contract management teams can enjoy significantly improved visibility, the aforementioned contract repository, tracked templates and clause libraries for expedited contract authoring, user-defined and ad hoc reporting tools, executive graphical dashboards for positively transformed contract analytics at a glance, contract lifecycle performance insights, improved contract collaboration, and full audit trails.
Organizations can experience faster contract-to-close rates with enhanced contract tracking. Proven contract tracking technology, which can aid in end-to-end contract lifecycle management, is easy to use - supporting broad adoption by users and impacted stakeholders.
Mistake #6 - Relying on Wet Signatures & Other Manual Signing Methods
Signing is an important stage in contract lifecycle management. Relying on wet signatures, manual (often emailed) communications regarding signing, and other obsolete methods can result in signature bottlenecks. These bottlenecks can cause delays with contract obligations, compliance standards, and contract execution.
Avoid It With Electronic Signature Software!
Organizations can avoid these issues and bottlenecks with electronic signatures!
An electronic signature is defined as the electronic rendering of a signature. Electronic signatures allow contract stakeholders to sign documents online without needing a physical copy of those documents. Electronic signature software can cut send-to-sign time by up to twenty percent!
Organizations can fully reap the benefits of faster signing. Contract management teams can save money on signature expenses, save time with a web-enabled, rapid process, provide increased security with legally binding and secured contract signatures, and enhance visibility and relationships with easily accessible signatures in the office or on the go!
Leave Behind Mistakes in Contract Management With Cobblestone®!
Now that you are aware of common mistakes in contract management and how you can leverage contract management software to avoid them, it is time to introduce you to the foremost solution for your needs. That solution is CobbleStone Contract Insight.
CobbleStone Contract Insight is the only contract lifecycle management software solution that offers all of the tools above. Your organization can leverage CobbleStone's award-winning, broadly acclaimed contract management, vendor management, eProcurement, and eSourcing software to prevent the aforementioned mistakes and address your needs. Given how user-friendly, scalable, and seamlessly integrated CobbleStone is, it's no wonder Forrester names CobbleStone a Leader in CLM software!
Avoid common mistakes in contract management and positively transform your CLM process today with a free demo!
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