Based on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, here is the full description of a CLM system:Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) is the proactive, methodical management of a contract from initiation through an award, compliance, and renewal.
Step #1: Initiation
A. Capture the data
This can be done in a myriad of ways; extract words from the contract, import them from other applications, etc.
B. Author the contract
We don’t need to rethink the wheel every time we write a contract,
Templates of contracts in the system — take, copy, edit, upload, manage, etc.
Integrate metadata/term sheet into the document that you just took, copied, edited, uploaded, managed, etc.
Regenerate: you’ve created a new contract! Now it’s ready for Awards
We all know Jim from legal will thank you for the new-found simplicity in drafting complex deals on your own paper or reviewing and “patching” contracts negotiated on someone else’s.
Step #2: Awards
The first part of the award is negotiation and redlining for changes; making sure everyone is in agreement about what the contract stipulates.
When everyone is in agreement, secure E-signature can be utilized. This means you can sign a contract from any location rather than from the office!
Step #3: Compliance
Contracts must be analyzed for any potential risks, rights, and obligations of the complying parties. Any contracts must abide by business procedures and state regulations. Tracking milestones, dates, currency values, or any other relevant trackable information is crucial to an old contract or a newly signed contract.
From the business flow view, having easy access to contract metadata is critical in case any modification needs to occur in a contract.
From the legal flow view, having easy access to contract metadata is imperative to verify compliance with the national, state, and industry standards.
Step #4: Renewal
Typically, members of the team will be required to monitor contracts to make sure if they need to be renewed, modified, updated, or canceled.
The renewal includes tracking the contracts in order to maintain the compliance and awards for it. Business intelligence reports (BI reports) and compliance reports are consistently tracked for the contract as well.
This (and much more) is what opensourceCM SaaS solution is all about. It is an enterprise level based CLM application offering a single sign on and encrypted secured access. Any folder in the platform can turned into a Negotiation Deal-Rooms available only to users permitted to access it. opensourceCM offers API (Application Processes Interface) connectivity to a wide variety of applications such as BOX.COM, SalesForce, MS-Dynamics, NetSuite, OKTA, QuickBooks, Zoho CRM, Dropbox, DocuSign to mention just a few.