Contract management is currently experiencing a revolution. For decades many organizations have relied on manual systems for keeping all of their contracts and agreements organized. However, because of advances in technology, contract management software has reached the point that it is too risky and too expensive for organizations not to adopt a software-based contract management system.
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Here are some of the biggest trends in contract management:
Smarter AI
Machine learning and AI are more than just buzzwords. These technologies are at the heart of the contract management revolution. Smarter AI powers better search results and allows contract management systems to use less bandwidth while delivering better results.
Smarter AI is making it easier for contract management software to move from being a sophisticated storage and retrieval system to also being a place where parties can collaborate together and where your legal department can draft custom contracts faster than ever.
Easier Collaboration
Business is a collaborative endeavor. Deals are never truly one-sided. In 2020 more organizations are going to find that collaborating over contracts internally and externally will be easier than ever. Instead of having a network folder with dozens of iterations of the same contract, a smart contract management system will make sure that everyone is always working on the most up to date version of a contract.
This will eliminate many mistakes that arise from confusion over version changes.
Faster Workflows
One of the biggest bottlenecks in the contract process is getting the right approvals and signatures. In many companies, salespeople have traditionally been the ones to shepherd a physical document from inbox to inbox until everyone in the chain of command signed off on it.
But, contract management systems now automate this entire process. Signatures can be applied electronically. The system sends alerts to remind supervisors to review and sign contracts. A cloud-based system also makes it easy for salespeople to check the status of any of their orders instantly.
This results in contracts getting signed and implemented faster, which improves customer satisfaction and increases revenues.
A Complete Contract Management Solution
So simple, so powerful and so cost effective, you will wonder why you did it any other way.
Greater Automation
In 2020 automation is going to a bigger part of contract management than ever before. Refined algorithms will make it easier for teams to draft similar contracts from templates, or even from scratch, without having to reinvent the wheel.
Not only will greater automation improve the contract drafting process, but it will also speed up the execution of contracts and make it easier for companies to stay on top of critical dates.
Better Risk Analysis
Contract management systems are moving away from just being a better contract storage system and into being a full-service contract system. Teams will not only collaborate on contracts inside of contract management systems, but they will also use the smart AI driven reports to perform better risk analysis on contracts.
Organizations will be able to see what contracts are most likely to be paid late or go into default with the click of a button. It will be easier than ever to avoid accidental breaches.
Intuitive dashboards will also allow organizations to start the renegotiation process sooner and will arm negotiators with critical data. 2020 promises to be an important year as more and more companies realize that the right contract management system gives them a competitive advantage.
