The Challenge
As a fast-growing Global 500 enterprise, this multi-energy provider is leveraging its leadership position to meet the world’s energy demands today while also taking bold steps to become a net-zero emissions company by 2050.
Amid these efforts, contracts emerged as a prime target for digital transformation. Like all upstream energy companies, this company’s operations are contract-intensive. Energy companies must contract with land owners for exploration and production rights; manufacturers to purchase and lease highly complex equipment; and third-party operators for specialized labor resources, to name just a few examples. All of this occurs amid stringent regulatory frameworks where noncompliance can result in major fines and reputational damage.
However, many steps in the contract management lifecycle presented challenges: Contract negotiations were hampered by limited visibility into historical contract data, meaning negotiators struggled to get the best terms and conditions from suppliers when it came time to renew. Furthermore, contract delays driven by manual reviews of even standard, low-risk contracts meant moving forward on revenue-generating projects took longer.
To address these challenges, the company initiated a project to digitize and automate contracting processes so its legal and supply chain teams could operate more efficiently. Their stated goal for the project was to create a system that empowered their teams to “capitalize on every negotiation for strategic growth.”
The Solution
Following an extensive RFP process led by its legal and IT teams, the energy giant chose Icertis as its technology partner to digitally transform supplier contract processes.
It chose the Icertis Contract Intelligence (ICI) platform for its enterprise-grade functionality and its ability to integrate across other systems. The team was impressed by Icertis’ ability to model even the most complex contract processes, while also enabling front-line business users to self-service contracts without legal support. With Icertis, the company gained a single solution that could meet all of its contracting needs, both now and into its net-zero future.
Following a successful deployment of Icertis, procurement teams have everything they need to negotiate from a position of strength—including historical views of past contracts with the vendor at hand as well and other vendors in that category. This means they can compare pricing and other terms and conditions to what the vendor has offered in the past, as well as what similar vendors have offered, ensuring they get the best offer they can. Meanwhile, legal teams are freed up to focus on the biggest deals in the company, maximizing their strategic contribution to the business.
Benefits
Icertis is delivering across three key value drivers:
1. Margin Protection: Enhanced negotiation capabilities cut supplier costs by over 25%, translating to a $420 million decrease in buy-side costs.
2. Operational Productivity: Overall contract cycle times have been reduced by 30%, meaning suppliers can get onboarded faster, and revenue-generating projects can get started sooner.
3. Risk and Compliance: Standardized templates and automated document reviews empower legal to review contracts for risk and compliance 20 minutes faster per contract.
Today, the company’s contracting processes are operating at peak efficiency and delivering the performance and efficiency it needs to transform to net zero.