Contract Lifecycle Management solutions are designed to automate the management of the contract lifecycle. CLM tools are indispensable, from the drafting phase, through the execution phase (post-signature), right up to contract closure. This market is booming, particularly in the age of Generative AI. iQo gives you the keys to successfully implementing a Contract Lifecycle Management tool.
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The Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) segment is one of the most dynamic in the software sector. The market, estimated at $1.5 billion to date, should reach $6 billion by 2026 (source: IMARC Group).
This growth, which has been sustained since the 2010s, has led to the emergence of almost 200 Contract Lifecycle Management solutions. This market is attracting a great deal of interest from companies, but also raises a number of questions. Indeed, the range of CLM tools on offer complicates the purchasing process.
What are the best tools? How to choose? Which business case? Where does Generative AI fit in? our white paper on Contract Management and Generative AI) ? These are the questions we are regularly asked, and to which we'll try to provide some answers here.
Contract Lifecycle Management software: for what uses?
A definition of Contract Lifecycle Management
Gartner offers the following definition: "Contract lifecycle management applications digitize and automate the contracting process to improve the speed, efficiency, visibility and compliance of legal document management across an organization".
We can translate this definition as follows. Contract Lifecycle Management solutions digitize and automate the contract management process to improve the speed, efficiency, visibility and compliance of legal document management within an organization.
Three main uses for Contract Lifecycle Management tools
Contract Lifecycle Management solutions aim to cover all stages of the contractual relationship, from start to finish. In this way, they address the needs of multiple stakeholders within the company (legal, operational, risk managers, buyers, financiers, etc.).
More specifically, these solutions aim to :
- Reduce contractualization times, in particular those devoted to negotiating clauses prior to signature.
- Improve visibility of contract content and associated contractual risks. They enable you to identify, in real time, the applicable conditions, deadlines and commitments entered into by one of the contracting parties, or granted by the other.
- Boost team productivity and efficiency. They avoid low value-added work (reviewing, collecting, reconciling and consolidating information from the contract database).
90% of multinationals and 50% of mid-sized companies plan to implement a Contract Lifecycle Management solution in the coming years (source: Gartner).
How are Contract Lifecycle Management vendors segmented?
There are many Contract Lifecycle Management solutions on the market, but not all of them have the same functionalities. They are differentiated by their ability to manage the contractual relationship in an extensive and integrated way.
While most solutions offer collaborative functionalities in the upstream phase (before signature), one of the main dividing lines lies in their ability to manage the post-signature phase. As a result, CLM solutions appear to be more or less mature in terms of contract tracking, commitment management and operational performance monitoring.
Several types of Contract Lifecycle Management solutions
- Players in the (mature) Procurement and e-sourcing segment. They have extended their contract management functionalities (fromProcurement) by digitizing collaboration, vendor management or supplier relationship management (SRM) processes.
- Players in the world of document management. They capitalize on the power of character recognition (OCR), indexing and search engines.
- Publishers in the legal software segment. They have developed contract management modules, with a focus on compliance.
- Pure player" contract management solutions, often developed by specialist start-ups with a "best of breed" approach.
Integrate with market-leading software packages
Faced with this profusion of offerings, leading Contract Lifecycle Management vendors are seeking to integrate with leading software packages. They are aware of the need for APIs with Salesforce, SAP(Ariba), Docusign, etc., to meet key IT integration challenges.
Let's not forget the need to anticipate the future (and inevitable) consolidation of the Contract Lifecycle Management market.
In practice: what concrete benefits can you expect from a CLM solution?
Risk Management
Contract Lifecyle Management solutions help to understand the underlying business risks. By developing scoring logics, sometimes supported by AI, these software packages provide qualified information for :
- assess the suitability of contract models proposed by contractors
- assess the suitability of contract models proposed by contractors
- propose alternatives to facilitate the negotiation process
Compliance
CLM tools help to transform a document written in "natural language" into structured content. This content is composed of searchable metadata, making it possible to analyze and verify the compliance of contractual clauses with corporate policies(risk policy).
Efficiency
What's more, they help speed up and automate the legal review process. In fact, CLM tools help teams to focus their time and expertise on non-standard clauses or clauses carrying specific risks, where the lawyer's added value is most tangible.
How can iQo help you with your Contract Management projects?
In a Contract Lifecycle Management market bursting at the seams with marketing efforts, companies are naturally led to compare the functionalities of the various tools in relation to their needs. It is also important, when choosing a solution, to integrate a detailed understanding of the business case, as well as market trends.
Beyond the panel of players, taking into account product roadmaps, changes linked to artificial intelligenceWe believe these factors should be an integral part of our decision-making criteria.
Specialist in Contract Management / Claim Management for nearly 15 years, our teams have developed a service offering, references and benchmarks that are unique on the market, based on two pillars.
Strategy and organization consulting Contract Management
- Contractual risk exposure audit
- Organizational maturity diagnostics
- Definition and implementation of Contract Management processes and associated organization
- Training and development of internal standards
- Assistance with tool selection
Contract Management / Claim Operational management of major projects
- Contractualization strategy
- Contract reviews (clauses, risks, etc.)
- Assistance with contract management during the execution phase
- Qualifying discrepancies and quantifying losses
- Preparing or managing claims files
Further information
Contract Management and Generative AI
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How can you better manage contractual risks?
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Contract Management, a lever for contractual performance
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