Feeling like you missed the train to paperless contracts processes? It’s simpler than you think
From the moment of creation until they are approved and during their entire lifecycle, errors can sneak in and documents can be lost thus generating unnecessary costs. Most probably contract management is not your favorite activity. You need simple, fast, safe and cost-effective processes.
You heard how deploying paperless contract management processes might just save the day, but you are feeling like you missed the digitization train. I mean, it’s understandable: everybody around you is talking about the next level concepts like AI and blockchain and you are still working with contracts on paper.
Nevertheless, the value of paperless contracts management is far greater and can be brought to light extremely quickly even in companies where digitization initiatives have been rather modest until now.
Quick reality check
Most probably you ask yourself everyday: Wouldn’t it be great if every contract could be stored carefully, properly classified and easily accessible? How much precious time did I lost today from the lack of automation and how many colleagues are still waiting along the contract management process? A great deal of activities is still manually done and prone to mistakes that you cannot afford?
Here are just a few negative consequences of inefficient contracts management:
- Multiple silos of contracts spread and differently managed across many departments in the company;
- Long time for finding a contract and all associated documents (addendums, invoices, reception notes);
- Team collaboration on contract information is difficult, not traceable and requires long meetings;
- Contracts events like invoicing, expiry dates and renewals, are sometime forgotten, generating financial lose and business continuity disruptions;
- Decentralized security of contracts can often conduct to vital information leaks;
- Contracts up to date status is obtained with delay and mistakes;
- Contracts and associated events can be consulted only on premise in custom application, without tools for mobility like BYOD.
Start simple by laying the foundation
Your ability to succeed is about getting on board and start laying the foundation right. Good contracts management it’s often characterized by the phrase “No surprise” meaning that every party involved knows exactly what the expectations and the associated time-frames are and that everyone delivers on all side of the contract. What this means is that you must ensure that enterprise wide and not just legal department’s own contracts are digitized and centrally managed.
Thus, creating a unique and auditable registry for all contracts and the associated documents is the stepping stone that can be easily achieved with digitalization. Further on the benefits just keep on coming so you will get in no time control and visibility over all your contracts and supporting documents during their entire lifecycle using full paperless operations. Every single contract is now stored, categorized and can be easily and securely accessible from anywhere using any device for a new level of productivity.
What you gain from automating Contracts Management
- Increase revenue by using automated reminders, notifications and alerts to enable accounts receivable/payable personnel within an organization to invoice for all services rendered
- Collect/avoid penalties and charges where applicable leading to revenue increase
- Increase contract convergence and consolidate spends by improving visibility and communication between stakeholders from internal staff without compromising security
- Up to 30% lower administrative and legal costs
- Central repository for all contracts across all departments in the company enforcing a global enterprise wide contract management governance
- Instant access to contracts and all associated documents (addendums, invoices, reception notes) dramatically reduce business decision time
- Reduce the time needed for contract creation and review by using templates
- Team collaboration on electronic contracts with traceability improves work performance, satisfaction and quality of decisions
- Streamline of business processes by timely and appropriate use of Contracts events management features
- Increased security of contracts information
- Real time and accurate up to date status of Contracts generates support for right business decisions
- Mobility empowers users to access information when and where is needed generating quick and consistent business decisional support
Just to be clear: AI, analytics and blockchain are important of course. But to many times companies are letting the fear of a big leap taking over and straying them from a simple step of digitizing and automating their contracts and related business processes. A simple step that will bring huge benefits and energize you for the journey to come towards the bigger leaps.
To learn more about building up your paperless contracts management processes drop us an e-mail at products@star-storage.eu