Increasing Management Complexity
Tracking important dates and deliverables deadlines can be a challenge. There is no question that technology has made our business lives significantly more efficient, but with more information and many more things to track, technology has also made our work lives increasingly complex and demanding. Without the use of appropriate tools, this situation will only become more challenging over time. Unfortunately, there are many instances, particularly when contracts are involved, involving the creation of a contract, the negotiation of a contract or the fulfillment of its obligations, in which missed deadlines are unacceptable.
The Challenges of Keeping on Top of Your Contracts
The challenges of staying organized throughout the contract lifecycle management process increase with the number of contract obligations and when multiple parties are involved. A properly managed collaborative effort can ensure contracts are created and finalized, but that means everyone has to be on the same page, understand their assigned responsibilities and when they are due, and find ways to incorporate them into their overall work responsibilities.
Effective Communications
For example, suppose your organization requires input from multiple departments before finalizing a contract with a potential new business partner. There may be certain documents designated for each department, which will have to be thoroughly reviewed to ensure the language pertaining to their component of the contract represents their best interests, as well as the interests of everyone involved in the agreement. It's important for each department tasked with reviewing its respective documents to do so thoroughly, but it must also be done in a timely manner.
Automated Calendaring and Reminder Tasking
Communication between departments, efficient document sharing and an understanding of specific tasks and deadlines are all key elements of a successful contract creation and management process. Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solutions can help in all of these areas. Those tasked with reviewing a document or taking any other important action during the lifecycle of the contract can stay on top of their tasks with built in integration of the solution with their calendars. Not only will important dates automatically be tracked, responsible parties can automatically be notified of impending deadlines. Automatically receiving a reminder via email of an important task and its corresponding deadline, can significantly alleviate the risk of it not being met, especially when that reminder and the occurrence of any missed deadline is simultaneously sent to multiple individuals and interested stakeholders.
Avoid Missed Deadlines
This can help during the fulfillment of the contract as well. Whether notifications are required to send an invoice, issue a report, renegotiate a contract or to renew it, reminder notifications are invaluable. If you are contractually obligated to produce a certain volume of work in a short amount of time, recurring reminders can ensure that a required delivery is not missed, and reduce the chance of you having to work tirelessly at the 11th hour or possibly fail to meet your obligations. Ultimately, keeping everyone informed and on point will lead to a more successful contract lifecycle.
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