If you are a business, no doubt you are always looking for ways to be more efficient – efficient with your time and the time you pay your employees to work, efficient with your business practices, efficient with your office space. A lot of the time your employees spend working for you in a day, is spent completing, filing, and posting paperwork.
These files then take up an enormous amount of space in your office and no matter how good our filing system is, a lot of time can be spent searching for the right file, taking it back to your desk, looking through it for the relevant document, to then reverse the process when you are finished. But there is a much more efficient way to run your business – using CLM solutions.
What Are CLM Solutions?
CLM is contract lifecycle management. So, it encompasses everything to do with a contract from its first draft to its completion or even its renewal. This, as I’m sure you are aware, can be quite a lengthy process from start to finish, especially when dealing with all that paperwork we talked about. So how are CLM solutions different.
Because the contract lifecycle is managed by software that can be accessible to all employees from their very own workstations. It is all stored online so no need for rooms full of filing cabinets, which are in turn full of files, which are in turn full of paperwork. Everything is accessible with a few clicks of a button.
How Does This Benefit My Company?
Well aside from the obvious saving of space, as mentioned above, there are many benefits. Think of the time that will be saved, not just from staff doing laps around your offices in the constant paperwork cycle we talked about before.
The whole contract process can happen much more quickly and efficiently, without the element of human error (how many times have you traveled a long way to get a contract signed, traveled back, and then realized a signature is missing?) that can so often occur. Just think what this could mean for your company.
If every involved party has access to the same information at the same time, each part of the process could be pushed through much quicker. Even if the parties involved are on totally opposite sides of the world, they can still access the same information and work through the contract.
Negotiations no longer have to mean constantly arranging meetings, for a small adjustment to be made, only for another meeting to be made to discuss a further adjustment. It can all be handled online and much more quickly. Amendments can be made there and then that the other party can instantly access and respond to.
It is also a great way to make sure no signatures are missed, and everything is signed quickly once everything is agreed upon. Digital signatures are used so no more sending messengers back and forth or expensive postage to track the paperwork as it goes traveling around the world. How about that for time and money savings?
The software goes beyond just the actual handling of the contracts, and it can also help you assess the data that comes from the many contacts you have stored on it. It can search for the most cost-effective way of doing certain actions.
And as mentioned earlier, it is accessible to everyone who needs it. Think about that for a minute. I’m sure you have experienced different departments in your company butting heads before as they all follow their own, different procedures. But with CLM solutions, every department will be on the same page and following the same process.
There are so many ways that CLM solutions can help you to get the most out of your business and your employees. With all the time you would save you could look to expand your business and take on more contracts.
Your staff will experience less stress and will be able to see all the work they have right there in front of them, so they always know where they are up to and how they are progressing through their current workload.
Yes, your staff will also enjoy the benefits of using this software, contributing to a happier workplace for all.
As already stated earlier, it will enable your business to run more smoothly as each department follows the same procedures and structure. By doing this, you will also improve the performance of your business, with everyone working harmoniously together.
Another danger with paperwork is that it only takes an unexpected visitor, and someone may see a file or a document that is confidential. When everything is online and secure, this danger is gone. So, especially if you deal with sensitive, private, confidential paperwork, it would be a much more secure option for your business to use to operate.
Summary
The benefits seem endless of using contract lifecycle management for your company. As we have seen, the time saved can be huge. You no longer need to pay for those expensive round the world trips or cross-country drives to discuss terms or to get those all-important signatures. No more trying to arrange numerous meetings and booking out office spaces when it can all be done from the comfort of your own desk.
It can mean more time to focus on new business opportunities. It can mean happier staff who are all working in unison, no matter what department they come under. It means ease of training as again; everyone is learning the same process and it is simple and straightforward to follow as the software does a lot of the work for you.
The contract process is much more secure and quick from start to finish. You can easily access and keep track of each and every contract with just a few clicks of a button and all the data that the software is collating for you along the way.
Using CLM solutions is a worthwhile investment for your business, your employees, your clients, and you. Start using software for your contracts today and enjoy all the benefits and rewards that come with it.
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