The CLM market is overflowing with software options, each with a different set of features. It's important to select the right solution for your institution by identifying the key areas where a new tool can bring value.

It's also essential to secure buy-in from departments that will use the tool (usually legal, finance and sales). Securing this input early on typically increases ROI and adoption post-launch.

Identifying Your Needs

Getting everyone involved in the process from the get-go is critical to successful CLM software implementation. That means bringing in departments across the business that touch contracts – e.g., procurement, finance, marketing, sales – in addition to legal and the c-suite. These stakeholders will help drive adoption post-launch, so ensuring they’re onboard from the start is the best way to set your solution up for success.

The first step in identifying your needs is to look at how you’re currently managing contracts. This will give you a good idea of what your expectations should be for the new system, and allow you to prioritize features you must have. Ensure that the tools you’re looking at offer everything you need, from centralized templates and libraries to dynamic workflows and alerts.

Contracts contain sensitive information and must be handled with care. Contract Lifecycle Management tools allow businesses to track contract milestones and renewals, as well as compliance with terms and conditions — so if something goes wrong, you’ll know about it immediately.

In addition, the right Contract Lifecycle Management tools will provide advanced analytical capabilities that empower teams to glean valuable business insights. These can be used to inform better strategies and more efficient contract processes. Finally, the ability to electronically sign contracts and provide third parties with their own e-signature accounts will reduce time spent on administrative tasks and delays in contract execution.

Choosing a CLM Provider

A successful CLM implementation hinges on the right CLM provider. In-house legal leaders say the most important consideration is how well the solution aligns with their desired workflow. That’s why many CLM vendors create solutions that offer a high level of flexibility or intuition to work with the way their customers operate. They are also likely to incorporate a standard data model and taxonomy, making it easy to get started.

When choosing a provider, in-house legal teams should also look at the vendor’s stability and history to ensure they are investing in a solid company. They should consider the number of current and historical clients, as well as the vendor’s business model. This helps determine whether the vendor leans more towards a sell side or buy side approach and how well its platform integrates with existing ERP, ECM or CRM systems.

In addition, it’s a good idea to select a vendor that offers support and guidance to complement your specific needs. This will help speed up time to value and ensure that you have the proper resources in place to maximize the benefits of your new system. For example, the right CLM provider can give you the tools to identify risk in your contracts, without the need for a manual process or an expensive add-on. This enables businesses to make better informed negotiation decisions, reduce exposure and mitigate costly mistakes.

Getting Started

Whether you’re a contracting team just beginning to look at the possibilities of a CLM tool or an experienced department, start by taking a step back from the technology and getting to know your workflow. Involve leaders from any departments that play a role in your contracting work (legal, procurement, sales, IT). Ask them to describe how they currently perform their duties. Document each process from start to finish and identify any bottlenecks, inefficiencies or waste of time that could be improved by the introduction of a CLM tool.

Then begin to narrow down your options. Aim to find a CLM software platform that has proven success with similar companies or use cases and listen to providers that focus on creating adoption, enablement and usage rather than those who center their pitch around the first-year cost. Look for a platform with dynamic templates that can be quickly edited by anyone with permission to do so, smart repositories that pull in key terms from legacy contracts, ingestion and extraction capabilities that can reduce the need for manual data entry and AI topics that can save you countless hours of reviewing and amending contract language.

Then negotiate with your prospective vendors. The marketplace is crowded, and there’s a lot of room for haggling. You may find that your favorite provider can offer additional integrations, the uploading of historical contracts, more users and more at a lower price than they’re asking for.

Implementation

Getting your team onboard is a critical step. Contract Lifecycle Management tools offer new ways to streamline processes and automate contracting work, allowing in-house legal and other departments to focus on creating value and serving as strategic partners to the business. But before you can leverage those features, your legacy contracts must be digitized and migrated to the system. This can be a daunting task, so securing support from key stakeholders from the beginning is crucial.

Map out your existing processes so you can identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies. This will allow you to prioritize the areas you need to improve. For example, if a significant percentage of your contracts are stalled in review due to a lack of clarity about responsibilities and deadlines, an easily searchable repository with email alerts might be all you need.

Ensure the right people have access to contracts and related documentation by setting up granular roles and permissions. This will make it easy to find documents and information, and it will help you avoid the type of errors that can cause expensive litigation or a lack of compliance with critical obligations like renewals and responsibilities.