The duty of managing vendor contracts involves much more than just bargaining for the finest financial and legal terms; it’s also a crucial part of managing risk and vendor relationships inside a firm. To develop a thorough, well-rounded agreement, contract management tasks are varied in kind.
To summarize, there is a lot of work involved in handling your vendor contracts properly. Systems for contract management are useful in this situation. A technology tool that assists businesses in streamlining the vendor management process is a vendor contract management system. It may encompass contract formation, management, storage, compliance, and tracking, depending on the program.
Choosing a Vendor Contract Management System: Some Advice
Several pages of tech solutions promising “the best in vendor contract management” will be up after a short Google search. In actuality, purchasing managers should prioritise looking for software that provides a central, fully searchable repository.
The majority of vendor contract management systems provide some sort of search and storing capability.
As you consider your team’s alternatives, look for the following capabilities:
- Convert scanned documents to text that may be searched
- Direct document transmission from the program
- Upload, save, and link relevant attachments, changes, and supplementary documentation
- Cite associated contracts
- Give documents folders and tags
- Make unique fields
At any moment, download a backup of all of your papers. Follow a contract’s progress from the initial draught to the conclusion
Keeps private information as secure as Fort Knox
Data security is a given for vendor contract management solutions because contracts frequently contain sensitive data. So look for the following in providers while comparing them:
- Technology for data encryption
- Storage off-site in authorized data centers
- Automatic backups offsite
- Two-factor authentication
- Audit logs
Boosts awareness of expenditures
We have talked about how crucial it is to keep lines of communication open between teams and departments. Giving insight into spending is also crucial. Look for contract management solutions with the following characteristics to streamline this process with little effort:
- Personalized labeling
- Views saved
- Individually tailored dashboards with scheduled reports
- Automated notifications
Encourages and aids compliance
It is vital to keep vendor contracts in compliance. Your procurement staff is responsible for making sure that crucial contract conditions, deadlines, and dates are met. Manually performing this task increases the possibility of human mistakes and consumes time and resources that may be put to better use elsewhere. Software for managing contracts can support compliance with:
- Automated email notifications,
- Personal reminders
- Key contract dates are listed on centralized calendars
- Reduces risk
The ideal vendor contract management software should reduce the risk for the business as well as simplify the tasks of you and your procurement team. When choosing a technology solution, consider the following characteristics:
- Version management
- Customizable roles and permissions
- Reminders of contract deadlines
- Important contract date reminders
The Secret Elixir for Successful Vendor Contract Management
Effective vendor contract management is facilitated by carefully thought-out documentation of the contract management process and the appropriate technological solution. Procurement managers will gain from deploying a digital solution for vendor contract management, whether they are in charge of a team of one or 21, reporting to the CFO or COO.
In recent years, procurement managers’ responsibilities have grown. You require a vendor contract management system that enables you to do more than just get goods and services for a reasonable price. To identify key partners, enhance cost/value outcomes, and provide greater visibility into spending across the enterprise, EffiGO assists procurement managers in gaining deeper insights.
