The business landscape is constantly evolving at a record pace. To stay competitive in a global market, organizations need to adapt and embrace digital transformation and integration across their organizations.
A successful transformation yields significant benefits, from cost savings to improved efficiency and supplier relationships as highlighted in a recent report by IDC.
“Forward-looking organizations have been pursuing digital transformation (DX) with the goal of creating new sources of value through digital products, services, and experiences,” IDC notes in their 2023 MarketScape for Buy-Side CLM. “As an added benefit, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that DX efforts improve an organization's resilience against market disruptions.”
The report is a must-read for any procurement professional seeking to gain insights into the value of digital transformation in the buy-side of the business, especially as it pertains to the foundational business agreements procurement organizations have with their suppliers—i.e., their contracts.
The report is particularly insightful on the value associated with contract lifecycle management (CLM) integrations. IDC technology experts note that CLM providers have made huge strides in recent years in their ability to build technology that integrates contract data in other systems.
“Applications have transitioned from glorified digital contract repositories to highly automated decision support tools that integrate with procurement, sourcing, and finance platforms,” the authors write.
"When contract data is automatically synchronized across systems, every stakeholder gains a comprehensive visibility to data that improves overall efficiency."
Integrations facilitate the seamless exchange of data, improving collaboration and maximizing the value of every contract. When contract data is automatically synchronized across systems, every stakeholder gains a comprehensive visibility to data that improves overall efficiency, facilitates faster contract processing, increased compliance, reduces costs, and drives better business outcomes.
Out-of-the-box integrations with leading S2P providers facilitate decision-support capabilities at the point of procurement. The infusion of AI in contract management provides clients with the capability to conduct deep-level and complex searches and discoveries, facilitate negotiations, and provide deeper insights into contracts.
Icertis integrates with nearly all major software systems, including Microsoft Office, Salesforce, SAP Ariba, SAP Fieldglass, and SAP S/4HANA. Among the many benefits of integration Icertis has observed:
A Seamless Data Flow: As mentioned earlier, integration allows for seamless flow of data between different systems and applications involved in the contract lifecycle. This enables the sharing of information and data across various stages, such as contract creation, negotiation, approval, execution, and performance monitoring. By integrating different systems, data entry duplication and errors are minimized, ensuring consistency and accuracy throughout the CLM process.
Efficiency and Time Savings: Integrating CLM with other systems eliminates manual data entry and redundant tasks. It streamlines workflows, automates processes, and reduces the need for manual intervention. This leads to significant time savings, increased productivity, and improved operational efficiency.
Improved Collaboration and Communication: Integration enables real-time collaboration and communication among stakeholders involved in the contract lifecycle. For example, integrating CLM with email or collaboration platforms allows users to easily share contract documents, exchange comments, track changes, and receive notifications. This promotes effective communication, enhances transparency, and speeds up decision-making processes.
Enhanced Visibility and Reporting: Integration provides comprehensive visibility into contract-related data by pulling information from various sources into a central repository. This allows stakeholders to generate real-time reports, dashboards, and analytics, providing valuable insights into contract performance, risks, and compliance. Enhanced visibility enables informed decision-making and proactive management of contracts.
Streamlined Processes and Workflows: Integration optimizes and streamlines processes and workflows throughout the contract lifecycle. For example, integration with e-signature platforms enables seamless electronic signing, reducing the time and effort required for contract execution. Integration with financial or procurement systems automates payment processes and invoice management, ensuring accurate billing and financial tracking.
Risk Mitigation and Compliance: Integration supports risk mitigation and compliance efforts by enabling automated tracking and monitoring of contract obligations, milestones, and key dates. Integration with compliance systems or risk management tools ensures that contract terms and obligations are properly enforced and monitored. This reduces the risk of non-compliance, penalties, and potential legal disputes.
Scalability and Adaptability: Integration helps organizations easily incorporate new technologies into their CLM ecosystem, such as artificial intelligence—providing them with the scalability and adaptability needed to address changing business needs. Integrating CLM with new and changing applications or systems becomes crucial to maintaining seamless operations and the avoidance of data silos.
While these benefits are clearly important to business, one word of caution: the IDC report underscores how critical it is to get integrations right: “If an implementation is not successful, oftentimes the source of the failure is the result of problems that arise related to integration with other platforms.”
Access the IDC report today to see why Icertis’ deep relationship with leading technology partners makes it leader in the CLM market and the clear choice for today’s leading enterprises.
Access a complimentary copy of the 2023 IDC MarketScape for Buy-Side CLM.