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The decade of AI and automation is upon us, and contract management is no exception.
We are now using AI and automation to improve every aspect of contract management, from creation and negotiation to execution and management.
What is contract automation?
In its simplest terms, contract automation uses technology to facilitate and automate contract-related tasks. This process allows businesses to generate, negotiate, and manage contracts with minimum manual input, thereby reducing the likelihood of human error and increasing efficiency.
Contract automation can transform a typically laborious and time-consuming process into a significantly quicker and more straightforward one.
It incorporates a variety of functionalities, such as automated contract creation, approval workflows, and reminders for key dates and milestones, all designed to make contract management more seamless and efficient.
Why contract automation software?
Contract automation software is a specialised tool that offers a streamlined, efficient approach to contract management. Its application spans a wide range of industries and businesses of all sizes. The main benefits of contract automation software are:
1. Speed and Efficiency: Contract automation software allows businesses to generate and review contracts using pre-set templates and clauses rapidly. This significantly reduces the time required to draft, review, and approve a contract, enhancing productivity and allowing more contracts to be managed simultaneously.
2. Accuracy and Consistency: Automated contracts considerably reduce the risk of human errors such as omissions or mistakes. The software consistently uses language and terms across all contracts, ensuring that each contract adheres to the organisation’s standards and best practices.
3. Better Compliance: Contract automation software helps ensure all contracts comply with applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies. This is achieved through built-in compliance checks, which flag any deviations or potential issues before they become problematic.
4. Improved Contract Tracking and Management: Contract automation software often includes features for tracking and managing contracts post-execution. This includes reminders for key dates, renewal notifications, and alerts for any contract-related activities, allowing businesses to manage their contracts proactively.
How to implement contract automation software?
Implementing contract automation software involves a few critical steps:
1. Understand Your Contractual Needs: Businesses need to understand their contract management needs before choosing a contract automation software. This includes assessing the volume of contracts, the complexity of terms, and specific industry requirements.
2. Choose the Right Software: There is a multitude of contract automation software available in the market, each with different features and capabilities. The selection should be based on the business’s specific needs, the software’s ease of use, integration capabilities, customer support, and price.
3. Set Up and Customise: Once a suitable software has been chosen, it must be set up to align with the company’s contract management process. This includes customising contract templates, setting up approval workflows, defining essential indicators to track throughout the process, and configuring reminder notifications.
4. Training and Adoption: To maximise the benefits of contract automation software, it is crucial to provide adequate training to the users. This ensures they understand how to use the software effectively and can make the most of its features.
5. Continuous Improvement: Like any other tool, contract automation software should be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that it continues to meet the changing needs of the business.
Unlocking efficiency with contract automation software
Contract automation and contract automation software are exciting opportunities for businesses to revolutionise their contract management process.
By automating time-consuming tasks, minimising errors, and enhancing compliance, these tools can significantly improve efficiency and productivity. As we continue to embrace the power of technology, contract automation software will undoubtedly become an essential tool in the modern business toolkit.
Introducing Zegal
Zegal is a cloud-based platform that offers comprehensive contract automation solutions. Known for our user-friendly interface and robust functionality, Zegal provides an effective and efficient tool for businesses looking to streamline their contract management processes.
Book a demo with a contract automation expert now and master your contract management.
Last mile delivery case study using Zegal
Zegal has helped over 20,000 companies with their legal and contract automation needs.
One such company is a UK-based multinational software company which uses Zegal as its contract management platform, together with a team of local lawyers in each of its markets to review documents, acting as a last-mile delivery and creating massive internal efficiency:
This process can help to drive efficiency in many ways:
- Reduces the need for manual review: By automating the contract generation process, businesses can reduce the need for manual review by lawyers, saving time and money, as lawyers can focus on more complex tasks.
- Improves accuracy: Automated contract generation can help to improve accuracy by reducing the risk of human error, as automated systems are less likely to make mistakes than humans.
- Increases speed: Automated contract generation can increase speed by reducing the time it takes to generate contracts, which is a significant benefit for businesses that need to create contracts quickly.
Overall, last-mile delivery can be a valuable tool for improving efficiency in the contract management process. By automating the contract generation process and having lawyers review the documents, businesses can save time and money, improve accuracy, and increase speed.
In addition to the above, here are some other ways that a lawyer’s review of automated contracts can create efficiency:
- Identify potential risks: Lawyers can review the documents to identify potential risks, such as legal issues or compliance concerns, helping businesses avoid costly mistakes.
- Provide clarity: Lawyers can clarify the contract’s terms, which can help avoid disputes.
- Ensure compliance: Lawyers can ensure the contract complies with all applicable laws and regulations, which can help to protect businesses from legal liability.
By automating the contract generation process and having lawyers review the documents, businesses can save time and money, improve accuracy, increase speed, identify potential risks, provide clarity, and ensure compliance.
