This leading, US-based independent specialty pharmaceutical company relied on paper-based, manual processes to execute more than 4,000 legal agreements each year. The company partnered with Clarkston Consulting to streamline their current contract lifecycle, by defining a standardized process that offered greater visibility, fostered collaboration, and enabled them to realize contract benefits more efficiently.

CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS

Challenge 1: Provide all stakeholders with complete visibility into the status of the contract lifecycle. The most common question asked by contract requestors was “Where is my contract?” Though our client had an existing contract management technology, it was used primarily as a document repository for executed contracts. Contract requests and their associated approvals were all paper based. Requestors were unable to track the status of their contract requests easily so they relied on phone calls to the legal department for updates.

Solution: Contract status visibility is a key component to fostering contract management efficiency. It provides not only awareness, but also accountability to all participants in the contract process. Further, full visibility facilitates contract effectiveness analysis; an important process in making sure your company remains agile and flexible in an unpredictable climate.

Clarkston led the implementation of an online contract lifecycle management system which allowed all participating stakeholders to see the status of their contracts real time. The implemented technology not only provided increased visibility into the contract management process, it also triggered notifications when actions were required, further accelerating stakeholder involvement.

The increased visibility also extended to milestone management. Alerts can be added to remind stakeholders of upcoming milestones or contract expiration. These alerts allow the company to manage and mitigate risks proactively vs. reactively.

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