Contract Insights

Many organizations have integrated technology to streamline processes and improve productivity but still rely on a manual approach to contract and document storage.  Storing documents and managing contracts may involve filing cabinets, massive stacks of files and papers, emails, and some rendition of a digital filing system.  This approach makes it nearly impossible to keep contracts secure, retain version control, stay on top of key dates and milestones, or enforce contract archiving and retention rules.  Storing contracts may sound like a simple task, but without a secure contract repository, organizations are missing the critical element that can support their ability to have control over contracts, reduce risk, and improve contract performance.

CobbleStone’s contract management software, Contract Insight, provides system users with a searchable contract repository that makes finding information easy.  When contracts and related documents are stored on shared drives it becomes difficult to find the correct document version and contract details because of limited searching capabilities and no audit trails.  A searchable contract repository provides full transparency into document versions, updates, and related documents.

Intelligent contract workflows help accelerate the contract lifecycle but must be used in combination with workflow escalations to achieve a completely streamlined process.  You and your team may be 90% compliant with getting contract management tasks completed in a timely manner, but sometimes workloads change, and you may not get to complete that assigned task by its due date.  Contract workflow escalations can help eliminate this challenge by having a back-up individual who can complete the task instead.

If you’re frequently encountering delays or bottlenecks at a particular step in your contract process, contract management workflow escalations can help eliminate the slow down.

What is of Value to Your Organization?

You’ve come to the realization that, with the technology available today, you need contract management software in order to exceed contract management expectations and increase productivity.  There are many solutions on the market and you’ll need a plan for how to evaluate them.  Before starting your contract management software assessment, identify what is needed within your organization’s current contract management process.  Do you have trouble locating document versions?  Are there process bottlenecks because no one knows when tasks are due?  Schedule a meeting with your team to discuss the challenges you’re facing so that you can be sure the solution you choose meets all your needs.