Research by KPMG found that up to 40 percent of value in deals is lost due to inefficient contracting processes. A modest efficiency increase can result in tens of millions of dollars for a Fortune 500 enterprise. Enterprise contract lifecycle management—particularly artificial intelligence (AI) contract negotiation—provides a key for unlocking this potential value.

What Is Enterprise Contract Lifecycle Management?

Enterprise contract lifecycle management refers to the digitization of the contract lifecycle, where automated systems replace inefficient manual methods of drafting, processing, reviewing, negotiating, and storing contracts. With an enterprise contract lifecycle management platform, all parties have immediate access to a current draft’s revisions, as well as the history of contracts that provide context to a firm’s bargaining position. 

What are the benefits of an enterprise contract lifecycle management platform?

Enterprise-scale contract lifecycle management platforms can revolutionize a corporate legal department’s contract management processes. Firms that adopt a centralized platform can enjoy heightened efficiency and productivity, resulting in more favorable client relationships and increased revenues.

Enterprise contract lifecycle management software can:

• Use data to ensure compliance and risk management.
• Create clause libraries and contract templates to standardize processes.
• Automate contract authoring, approval, and execution. 

Ultimately, a digitized system centralizes contracts to create a single source of truth for negotiations. Agreements become searchable and accessible, allowing better collaboration across teams, departments, locations, and parties. By streamlining inefficient, time-consuming tasks with machine-driven efficiency, companies can reduce time-to-sign by 30 percent or more. The accelerated workflow improves job satisfaction for reviewers, improves visibility and trust between parties, produces a transparent auditing trail, and allows companies to maximize profitability with automated contract renewal alerts.

Who needs an enterprise contract lifecycle management solution?

The ideal customers for enterprise contract lifecycle management solutions include:

• Medium to large-sized organizations handling a high number of contracts daily.

WHY: To conserve human resources, reduce costly errors, and process volume quickly.

Even a simple task like referring to standardized phrasing and language used in past similar contracts can take an excessive amount of time to implement. A digitized solution offers advanced search tools, a robust clause library, and templates for each type of contract to facilitate this work

• Organizations with multiple siloed departments and offices spanning several locations.

WHY: To coordinate decision-making while correcting omissions and redundancies.

A single solution across various departments and locations allows for greater operational efficiency and strengthened collaboration. Inconsistencies in pricing or terms will be evident, allowing organizations to maximize profitability and swiftly train newly expanded offices in standard protocols. 

• Companies in industries with strict regulatory environments and compliance standards.

WHY: To avoid costly mistakes and oversights.

Even a small and seemingly innocuous misstep can lead to costly fines and tremendous legal hassle. With enterprise contract lifecycle management, companies avert crises by establishing firm guardrails and automating the review process prior to execution. Rigorous security measures are guaranteed to protect sensitive client documents and reduce liability. 

Contract Negotiation AI Completes Enterprise Contract Lifecycle Management

Contract negotiation AI provides a valuable complement to contract management best practices. And a leading-edge AI solution, like LexCheck, can be easily added to any contract management stack to expand its capabilities. 

By uploading an AI Digital Playbook, templates, and past contracts to LexCheck’s AI-powered platform, corporate legal departments can leverage Natural Language Processing (NLP) to scan agreement terms and clauses and identify language that deviates from a company’s contract guidelines. The AI essentially completes the work of a preliminary reviewer by fully redlining each agreement and making context-based revision suggestions according to stipulated standards.

Contract negotiation can be a complex, costly, and tedious process—but it doesn’t have to be. Enterprises seeking an end-to-end enterprise contract management solution that includes AI-powered contract negotiation will find that innovation can accelerate ROI while streamlining the contract review and negotiation process.