Best-in-Class Contract Management Solution – What you should look for
In this competitive landscape, businesses need contract management systems with advanced features to mitigate risks. Most organizations have ineffective legacy contract management systems that resemble file cabinet systems. Given the importance of contracts in businesses, contract software can help automate the creation and approval, mitigate risk, and monitor contract obligations and compliance from a single platform.
However, not all contract management systems are built the same; the following are some key features every business should look for when choosing the best contract management software.
Enhanced Contract Management with Automation and AI
1. Automated Document Assembly
Automating contract generation using templates and clause libraries enhances the legal team’s efficiency, reduces turnaround times and improves responsiveness. Empowering business units with self-service contracts for standard agreements—such as NDAs and employment contracts—improves speed, accuracy, consistency, and compliance.
For complex agreements that require businesses’ legal oversight, workflows can be customized to escalate contracts when necessary.
AI-powered document assembly further enhances efficiency by:
- Streamlining processes
- Improving accuracy
- Providing insights throughout document creation
AI-driven systems can analyze natural-language text, extract critical information, identify key sections, and create customizable templates, significantly reducing manual effort in contract drafting.
2. AI-Powered Contract Analysis
Contract execution is just the beginning—effective contract management is crucial. AI-powered contract analysis tools help businesses track obligations, deadlines, and key terms, mitigating risk and ensuring value is realized.
AI-driven contract management systems digitize agreements, extract critical provisions, and structure key data for better decision-making and risk management. AI reads the contract data, analyses the most vital information, and puts it into an abstract manner for quick understanding.
3. Process Automation and Workflow
Managing contract approvals and execution involves multiple stakeholders. A contract lifecycle management system (CMS) with automated workflows eliminates manual tasks, ensuring:
- Streamlined approval and signing protocols
- Timely execution
- Compliance with authority and approval requirements
These solutions aren’t limited to contracts; they also improve overall business process management, as Thomson Reuters HighQ Collaborate demonstrated.
4. Document Management and Search
A cloud-based contract software serves as a secure contract repository, solving one of the biggest challenges: locating documents when needed. A robust system should:
- Provide secure storage with audit trails tracking access, downloads, and revisions
- Offer AI-powered search capabilities with semantic indexing and document clustering
- Enable redline comparison tools to track changes over the contract’s lifecycle
5. Electronic Signature Integration
Seamless eSignature integration accelerates contract execution by eliminating time-consuming manual signing processes. Benefits include:
- Remote signing from any device
- Centralized tracking of signed agreements
- Enhanced security through document encryption
6. Intuitive Contract Collaboration
Effective contract execution requires seamless collaboration. A CMS fosters real-time cooperation through shared annotations, tasks, and version tracking, ensuring stakeholders always work on the latest document. SutiSoft’s CLM software integrates with Zoom, enabling stakeholders to collaborate and interact via a commonly shared platform. This way, changes can be reviewed quickly, and negotiations can be transparent, saving time and work for all parties involved.
7. Contract Portfolio Reporting & KPI Tracking
A CLM system enables real-time contract monitoring, helping businesses:
- Track contract statuses and pending approvals
- Visualize KPIs through data dashboards
- Use AI-driven insights to optimize contract management
- Reports and analytics give you insights into the contract lifecycle at each phase
8. System Integrations
A CMS should integrate seamlessly with key business tools, including:
- CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365) to centralize customer and contract data
- Document management platforms
- AI software and document comparison tools
- Electronic signature applications such as SutiSign for easy closures
9. Data Security
Given the sensitivity of contracts, robust security measures are essential. A secure CMS should:
- Be hosted in an ISO/IEC 27001-certified environment
- Offer private cloud hosting with redundant Tier-3+ data centers
- Implement two-factor authentication and document encryption
- Employ 24/7/365 monitoring by security professionals
10. Mobile Capability
A CMS with mobile functionality enhances accessibility, allowing users to:
- Review, edit, and sign contracts remotely
- Receive real-time status updates and notifications
- Collaborate on contracts from mobile devices
Its integration with many external applications enables sales and account management teams to stay connected with clients anytime, anywhere.
By leveraging automation, AI, and integration capabilities, businesses can streamline contract management, enhance compliance, and optimize efficiency, ensuring contracts are assets rather than liabilities.
Comprehensive Solution
Contract management should be more than just storage; an effective contract management process requires every stakeholder to share a collaborative platform. Each phase of the contract management process involves various steps, and to manage it effectively – you need an end-to-end intelligent and collaborative solution.
When all stakeholders work together in centralized contract management, businesses will have unprecedented control and visibility over all contracting processes, workflows, approvals, and metrics – speeding up transactions and delivering good value to the businesses while improving accuracy and mitigating risk. Choosing a cloud-based contract management software such as SutiCLM can help with the application support, without businesses worrying about the technical aspects and maintenance.
