Using your CLM as a contract repository tool: You’re missing the best parts! 

Smartphones these days are amazingly multi-faceted. But what if you just used it to make phone calls? What if we never learned to take advantage of all the functionality of smartphones? We wouldn’t be able to have video chats, check the weather, stay up to date on our calendars, play silly games, get directions, or do any myriads of things we take for granted while we’re on the run these days. The point here is – what if we had never taken advantage of all that modern technology has to offer us? It would be very limiting.  

The same can be said for Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solutions. Many folks only see it as a fancy contract repository tool. But if you consider a CLM solution just a place to organize your contracts, you’re missing out on most of the benefits a CLM can deliver to your organization.   

When evaluating your organization’s contract management capabilities and working to identify areas for improvement, yes, the very first step is to aggregate your contracts into a centralized contract repository. But there are 4 more impactful steps within the CLM maturity model to follow to improve your contract management capabilities and help you achieve business objectives. Let’s look at a few Agiloft customers who have done just that.

Manufacturing

Take the case of a major manufacturer, Klein Tools. When their AGC joined the very lean team of three attorneys, they were reviewing around 5,000 contracts every month. The team had problems well beyond just needing a contract repository. Turnaround times were lengthy, and the approval processes were unclear. Time was wasted with inefficiencies and monetary liabilities were an ongoing concern due to auto-renewal provisions kicking in with no way to track active contracts.   

With the implementation of a CLM, Klein Tools’ legal team no longer had to worry about the wrong people receiving contracts or unauthorized employees signing contracts. More importantly, the turnaround time for contract review improved from days to minutes. Now there is transparency in the contracts, status, and commitments with flexible, easy-to-set up and run reports.   

Biotech

Another example is a leading biotech company that needed much more than a contract repository tool. They had one, but it wasn’t giving them the functionality that they needed. They couldn’t keep track of the many contracts moving at different paces within different departments. Finance and other departments constantly needed information on whether contracts were budgeted or what program they belonged to. Then, of course, there is compliance within the biotech industry that must be airtight.  

This biotech company needed much more than a contract repository tool; they needed insight into their contracting process, improved compliance with their multitude of regulatory requirements, and elevated contract reporting. What they found with their new CLM was clearer insights for more than just legal and finance teams – the whole company and even its auditors can now find out where a contract sits and can find agreements easily and view the approval and signature process within the system. The Senior Contract Manager at this biotech company said: “A strong CLM solution affects more than contract management. It enhances compliance and allows for automated reporting. Especially for an IPO or public company.”  

Non-profit

Most organizations know right away that they need more than just a contract repository tool for their contracts, and this was true of Northern Rivers Family of Services (Northern Rivers). This organization is responsible for the care and support of more than 14,000 children and adults in 36 New York counties.  

Chief Officer of Business Development Sharon Valiquette said: “Our strategy wasn’t just to go out and buy something; we wanted to drive changes in our policies and culture. We needed a solution that could reflect the nuances of that shift.” The non-profit sought a technically robust solution that provided transparency and accessibility, but also strong access controls due to its documentation’s sensitive nature.   

Also needed was a high degree of sophistication for its approval process. Jack Wicks, an Agiloft implementer, explained: “The approvals…require a higher degree of sophistication. Any time a contract enters the system, it has different approvers based on several factors, all automatically determined in Agiloft. For example, if a contract requires xyz approvers, x and y may sometimes be the same person, so the Agiloft system recognizes that just one reminder is required for x and y.”  

Northern Rivers was pleased with their CLM outcome. Their chosen system was robust enough for the many nuances of their business operations and provided secure and flexible accessibility so insights could be quickly realized. It was also noted that users with varying levels of tech-savviness quickly adapted to the new system and process. So, policies and cultural shifts were made with the ease of adoption to the new ways.  

For a cherry-on-top kind of ending, the Agiloft CLM solution came in at a mere 50% of the budgeted amount due to quick understanding of the admin role by the Director of Strategic Business Services and other factors.   

Summary

If you’re thinking, “Wow, a contract repository tool would be nifty,” don’t limit yourself or your organization. And if you already have a contract repository that isn’t meeting your needs, think outside the box and seek alternative solutions.  

A CLM is much more powerful than its repository capabilities. As shown above, it can:  

• Solve complex signature workflows  
• Provide secure, flexible approval processes  

• Have clear insight into contract status and details Let use h 

• Track contract obligations  

• Ensure no auto-renewals occur without awareness  

• Run ad hoc or scheduled reports for regular delivery  

• And more! 

These are just a few examples of organizations taking advantage of every nuance of CLM that serves their unique needs. With the amazing flexibility and scalability of the right CLM platform, almost any contractual data need can be solved. You just need to imagine it, and Agiloft can work to solve it with you, together.   

Let’s discuss your contracting vision. Click here to start a conversation today.