Contracts are the core of most businesses, with growth and the fast-paced development of technology demanding solutions that efficiently assist businesses to seamlessly manage the contract management processes to mitigate risk, retain relationships and save time and money.

The growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the trend towards aligning technology with people and their expertise in legal fields are re-shaping industries and practices. AI and Machine Learning along with human input and management allow firms to better manage data, make decisions and minimize corporate risk, particularly in B2B matters. Outdated solutions that focus primarily on pre-contract processes do not offer an end-to-end solution that includes the management of contractual terms as well post-contract deliverables. That is where digitised Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solutions offer the most benefit to firms.

What to look for in a Contract Management solution

A robust CLM solution:

• tracks content, provisions, and terms of the contracts
• monitors deliverables
• ensures compliance
• manages post-contract obligations

All parties have access to data sets that can be managed and controlled across the board. Typically this can be delivered through blockchain infrastructures, where multi-party collaboration is offered.

Machine Learning in Contract Lifecycle Management

Machine Learning (ML) is also becoming essential to CLM, specifically during contract review where automated data analysis and analytical model building allow the system to update contracts to detect future nuances and risks, providing access to information to all parties.

 Automated Contract Management integrates data and streamlines the process, to effectively avoid delays and errors resulting in significant losses and high costs. Modernized CLM solutions management solutions automate processes and configure milestones, approvals, and triggers for uninterrupted workflows (including parallel and serial) to keep the process moving forward without requiring manual intervention at every point.

Of course, CLM management would not be complete without a human review team to perform contract extraction and migration to CLM platforms, delivered through Cenza’s teams of experts spanning legal practice and technology verticals.