As your business grows, your needs evolve, and so do the complexities of your business transaction record-keeping – a.k.a. contracts. Rings a bell? Recordkeeping or database management for your entire set of contracts is a humongous task and is best not left to run-of-the-mill document management systems. We will tell you why!
In a recent survey by Zycus, 75.5% of the respondents identified, ‘Searching for existing contracts’ as a pain area. This, despite 64% of the same respondent set claiming to have a Contract Repository Solution! While contradictions are not ideal in the context of surveys, this one reveals a common mistake that enterprises often take too long to correct – that of force-fitting their contract repository needs into a document management system of sorts, until it begins to fall apart.
This is further corroborated in a survey by Aberdeen Group, where approximately 50% of companies admitted to having poor visibility into their supplier contracts, making it difficult to track and monitor them. A key reason identified was that 80% of these companies are using manual or partially automated processes and disparate systems.
Clearly, organizations deserve better; better than generic DMS platforms which are often marketed and sold in the garb of contract repositories. True contract repositories are a different ball-game altogether.
Contract repositories are designed specifically for storing, searching and tracking contracts throughout their lifecycle, and hence come in-built with specific features addressing the same. Their scalable model ensures easy storage of any number of contracts and related documents. When companies need to track contracts in thousands, integrated contract repositories rise to the challenge. They make it easy to locate contracts through multi-parameter search options like metadata searches, and intelligent free text searches (think Googling!) etc. Also, with having to track so many contracts, pre-configured alerts and reminders are crucial to take timely action. To top it all, repositories offer a single-view dashboard to track all edits and changes in real-time. Throughout authoring and reviewing, there is visibility into the workflow and all contract versions, no matter where they originated (MS Word or Outlook) and are by design centralized and secured in audit ready formats.
Expecting these efficiencies from a document management system is like expecting a sports car performance from anything that runs on four wheels.
When should you move to a contract repository system?
Are you a large, global organization dealing in more than 100 contracts per month? Are you finding it tough to locate and track contracts? Are you losing money due to missed contract deadlines, auto-renewals and non-compliance? Are you finding it difficult to serve the contracting needs of your business users? If the answer to any of these is yes, you have clearly outgrown your shared drives and document management systems. It’s time for you to explore more advanced, next-gen, AI-powered contract repository solutions.
Do you know what led the world’s second-largest semiconductor chip maker, nation’s largest transportation broker, North America’s largest freight company, and a global relocation services provider switch to Zycus Contract Management Solution? They all outgrew shared drives and DMS based infrastructure.
To stay ahead in the game and be competitive, companies should not be restrained by archaic, outdated contract storage systems that limit the performance of contracts. It is time to embrace technology and take the next step towards advanced contract repository solutions.
