Contract Intelligence Objective
Give contract managers clear visibility and control across complex, high-value contracts, so teams can collaborate better, reduce manual effort, and make more informed decisions.
Solution Highlights
- Centralized contract management across teams
- Integrated with SAP and Microsoft 365
- Standardized governance using CATS CM methodology
- Real-time visibility through dashboards and reporting
- Improved collaboration with reduced manual effort
Challenge
Managing contracts at the scale of a nation’s mobility
Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) is one of Europe’s largest public transport operators, carrying millions of passengers annually and holding the vital responsibility to keep the Netherlands sustainably accessible. With around 20,000 employees, over 3,200 kilometers of rail network, and approximately 1 million travelers each day, NS handles immense scale.
Supporting this operation is a vast network of suppliers and partners, all governed through contracts that are critical to service delivery and operational performance. Contract management spans procurement, IT, and business teams, making it a deeply embedded and essential capability.
However, as the organization grew and evolved, managing contracts became increasingly complex. Contracts were fragmented across systems and teams, making it difficult to find information, track performance, and maintain consistent governance. Reflecting on this, Jeroen van Bilderbeek, Product Owner, NS, shares, “Fragmentation, limited visibility, and operational pressure made it harder to manage contracts effectively.”
Managing large, multi-year contracts with thousands of line items only added to the challenge, limiting real-time visibility into obligations, risks, and performance.
Solution
Embedding structure, governance, and data into everyday contract management
To bring structure and consistency, NS adopted the CATS CM methodology, which defines clear roles, governance models, and lifecycle best practices. This created a strong foundation to manage contracts more professionally and consistently across the organization.
Icertis was selected to bring this approach to life within a single platform. Its enterprise-strength CLM capabilities and flexible integrations aligned well with NS’ needs.
Importantly, Icertis supports the CATS CM methodology by embedding key elements such as objectives, governance, risk, and performance tracking directly into workflows. As Jeroen explains, “Icertis aligns closely with our approach by embedding contract essentials into the system, which helps us manage contracts in a more structured way.”
With integrations into SAP and Microsoft 365, contract data is expected to flow seamlessly through procurement, finance, and document workflows, creating a consistent and connected experience.
Benefits
More clarity, better collaboration, stronger control
With Icertis in place, NS has moved from fragmented processes to centralized and standardized contract management. Contract managers now have clear visibility into their portfolios through dashboards and reporting tools such as Power BI, enabling more informed and proactive decision-making.
This shift has also strengthened collaboration across teams, creating a shared environment where accountability and ownership are clearer. “The shared digital environment fosters accountability, autonomy, and stronger collaboration across teams,” Jeroen highlights.
Contract management is now more structured, consistent, and aligned with the organization’s broader goals. With this foundation, NS continues to expand its use of analytics, automation, and AI-driven insights to further enhance contract management.
