Contract Management Solutions - A Complete Guide to Manage Your Business

A high level of contract management planning in the procurement planning phase is required. It is a range of the process and derives from the market analysis and review, contract management strategy, complexity assessment, market approach and continues through contract negotiation, application, and outcomes assessment.

The planning of contract management solutions covers all actions at the beginning, during, and after the contract ends. It is the procedure that confirms both parties involved in the contract have fully met their respective responsibilities as efficiently and effectively as possible to frequently deliver both the operational and business objectives required from the contract.

Why are contract management and planning important?

Contract planning confirms the delivery of chosen procurement consequences. It considers a broad variety of factors, including:

• driving constant improvement
• additional value creation and value preservation
• performance management
• risk mitigation, role clarity, and the value of supplier relationship
• quality assurance.

The best contract management software planning varies from contract management which confirms that a contract has fulfilled what has been definite, within distinct timelines, in accordance with detailed performance standards, without delivery and defect at the agreed price.

Four components of contract planning and management

There are four key components included in contract management:

• risk analysis
• commercial
• suppliers and contractors and
• reporting

These are four components shown in the following figure and offer a context for contract management and planning at the individual procurement functioning level.

Risk analysis

• Contract risk breakdown analysis
• Proximity to core analysis

Commercial

• Benefits tracking
• Financial management
• Pricing reviews
• Financial risk

Suppliers and contract

• Contract management plan
• Supplier relationship management
• Transaction management
• Variation

Reporting

• Key performance indicators
• Reporting frequency
• Reporting hierarchy

This guide further explores the 5 must-have features of contract management solutions to help procurement practitioners to perform effective contract management and planning.

5 must-have contract management system features for optimal performance

It's easy to go wrong in the promise of everything the best contract management software claims to provide. But here are five essential components every contract management solution must have to set your end-users, organization, and legal teams up for a seamless and worthwhile digital path forward.

• Ease of use
• Shared capabilities and Unified platform
• End-to-end, customized integration
• Risk and agreement management
• Secure business storage and transactions options

Transforming the user experience from start to finish

In today's ever-changing, high-stake environment, it isn't sufficient for organizations to hire the right people to handle contract management for smooth operations with the business.  

Without the right tools, it's nearly impossible for legal teams to carry on with the rising demand for revenue generation, compliance, and sales velocity.  

But with an end-to-end and high-quality contract management system, global businesses stay ahead of the competition while at the same time making a substantially better experience for both their clients and their internal teams.