As the 21st century has progressed, many different aspects of our society have changed. However, one of the biggest transitions of the information age has been the rise of technology to govern workplace practices. Technology has not just helped regulate enterprise businesses and increase their efficiency, but has also overall enhanced the economy. Due to the rise of technology, more and more enterprise businesses have integrated digital tools into their workflow.
One of the most underrated tools that enterprise businesses have taken up is contract management software. What this does is enable companies to effectively create and manage their contracts. This software is often used alongside the contract lifecycle management process, which allows companies to effectively manage their contract process from contract creation through to compliance, to the end of the contract. As such, contract lifecycle management is an extremely important process for modern enterprises, and it can help keep enterprises more effectively handle their contracts.
For one, contract lifecycle management helps enterprises in requesting contracts. Once an enterprise builds out contract templates, they can then send these templates out to govern certain relationships. For example, a supplier contract is inherently different than an employee contract, and the contract templates need to reflect this. However, keep in mind that most contracts are not agreed upon as-is. There is a negotiation process and you want to be able to automatically keep track of any of the changes that happen throughout different stages of the contracts. During this process, the different parties to the contracts and legal departments within those enterprises will review and eventually approve the contract after requesting changes. If contract management software is used at this stage, the signing process can become streamlined. This is helpful for making sure that the official version of the contract is the one that is being held to compliance, and not an earlier draft.
After the contract is agreed upon, you can then utilize your contract management software to make sure that these contracts are stored safely and that they are effectively managed. However, once a contract is agreed upon and signed doesn’t mean it can be filed away forever. A contract needs to be continually checked for compliance and to make sure that it fulfills the agreed upon KPIs. This is much easier to achieve when using contract management software, as it will give you notifications when contracts are near their expiration dates or when anything that occurs or is delivered is out of compliance of the contract.
Overall, when utilizing the process of contract lifecycle management, an enterprise needs to have a way to effectively store and secure its contracts. IT also needs to continually check them for compliance and update them whenever there are law changes or changes in compliance regulation. As such, the contract lifecycle management process offers a great way to agree upon and monitor a contract, and make sure that its provisions benefit both parties and create a fruitful working relationship.
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