Using contract data to make Legal part of the business mainstream

The activities of the legal department in business have often been regarded as close to magic: an unfinished agreement is submitted to Legal and comes back ready to sign and implement. Of course, Legal has historically had something of a reputation as the ‘Department of No’, as it has always had a focus on limiting exposure, while its corporate clients often have a need to take calculated risks. The opaqueness of much of the work Legal does, or at least the absence of shared understanding with its internal clients, has often made Legal the most important function that operates outside the core of the business. 

But let’s welcome them into the game. By dispelling the mystery of Legal, and opening their data coffers, the playing field in your market can drastically change in your favor. 

The impact is then: 

• Transparency: getting legal data and knowledge far and wide across the organization, seamlessly added to every related function 

• Visibility: getting reports out that show not only the Legal To-Do list, but also trends and insights on the best and worst agreements in the company, as well as recommendations on how to do more of the former and less of the latter 

• Impact: aligning the initial signature on an agreement with the execution of the contract, then obligation follow through and tracking for better risk management 

The concept of this data sharing by Legal is all well and good but how can an organization do that without a lot of manual labor and report generation?

Integrating and sharing contract data

If you have over 1,000 applications that integrate with Legal’s Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) system, every department can work within their own applications yet have access to the plethora of contract data that is at the core of every organizational function. 

If you think about it, once Legal shares contract data, the key to the heart of every business decision, you can: 

• Streamline Operations – Reduce redundant vendors throughout an organization by having centralized insight into all contracts. You not only increase savings by consolidating vendors, but also through volume discounts that can be realized by giving more business to a select few vendors.  
• Accelerate Sales– Understand the most favorable conditions for a sale by reviewing historic contractual information. Answer which clause language caused prospects to buck, and which required very little redlining. By understanding out of the gate what will be more widely accepted, it’s easier to move more quickly through a sales transaction.  
• Inform Leadership – Provide a treasure trove of data that can help drive strategic decisions.  
• Identify trends: Know which contracts are most valuable, how long contracts are active, and how much money is being spent. 
• Empower risk management: Identify potential risks and liabilities associated with contractual obligations, enabling proactive risk management strategies to be developed. 
• Ensure compliance: Ensure the organization adheres to legal and regulatory requirements stipulated in contracts, mitigating compliance risks.  
• Access accurate reporting: Provide insights into whether the current state is good or bad and propose course corrections where necessary.  
• Aid Procurement: Assess the performance of vendors, partners, and contractors against agreed-upon metrics and standards. Use this evaluation to inform decisions about continuing or modifying relationships.  
• Empower Human Resources: Reduce manual work for the HR professionals through automation and increase their productivity.  
• Arm Finance – Forecast future expenditures and resources needed based on current contractual commitments, providing the ability for more accurate strategic planning. Cost analysis also provides the opportunity for cost optimization.  

And this is just a sampling. 

So, these are the outcomes that can be realized for each department, the “why” if you will of Legal opening the flood gates of contract data. Let’s tell you more about the “how” the contract data can be shared. 

Sharing contract data

Agiloft’s Integration Hub is many things beyond a catalyst for a frictionless exchange of information between the Agiloft Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) platform and other department applications. The Integration Hub seamlessly connects by embedding right into an application’s user interface to allow you to flow data where it’s needed most. Any non-technical user can connect into the CLM platform through ‘recipes’. Use clicks, not code to integrate.  

The overall benefits of Integration Hub include:  

• Removing department data siloes. 

• Eliminating coding headaches stitching together data from disparate systems.  

• Ending disputes and holdups amongst departments with reporting data accessible to all within their own applications. 

• Alleviating the hunt for information with enterprise insight into contract data. 

• Reducing slowdowns in contract execution by simplifying the contract request process for users by letting them work in their own systems instead of directly in the CLM.  

It’s time to understand the value beyond contract management, litigation, and M&A that Legal holds. They have the keys to the epicenter of business. They have contract data. By sharing contract data throughout an organization, you can create not only added value to the legal department in business but also a competitive differentiator of centralized information. Let Agiloft help you share the value.

Read more about Integration Hub here.