Practically every company uses contracts as a means of doing business. So, every company also needs an efficient way to manage those contracts. The bio-pharma industry is no exception. In fact, the increased need for risk management and compliance to health standards makes CLM an absolute necessity in both new and established bio-pharma companies.
So what are some of the ways that contract lifecycle management (CLM) solutions can help this unique industry? Let’s explore a few of the potential benefits of implementing a CLM and discover how this groundbreaking piece of legal technology can unlock your company’s true potential.
Visibility
CLM software typically offers a cloud-based repository to house all of your organization’s contracts in one convenient place. The existence of this database in cyberspace as opposed to filing cabinets or even a company hard drive greatly increases visibility among different departments and with third party contracts as well. All employees gain the freedom to access documents from any location, helping remote workers stay involved and facilitating better communication between the parties working on an agreement.
Standardization
Most CLMs showcase features that help immensely with the standardization of contracts and, more specifically, contract language. Standardization is an essential aspect of risk management for many organizations, and it may be especially important for bio-pharma companies. If language varies from contract to contract, these gaps leave room for unfavorable clauses to slip through, sometimes placing the company in a risky position. Your CLM tool can easily combat or even prevent these errors entirely.
During the negotiation process, changes may need to be made to the contract language in order to meet the obligations of both parties. Inputting a database of pre-approved clauses into your CLM tool helps reduce the amount of time spent negotiating these terms, moving the contract process along faster and preventing mistakes from being made in the hastiness to complete the deal. In this way, you can also free up more time for your legal team to work with contracts that may be more innately risk-intensive.
Automation
Automation is an extremely helpful CLM feature when it comes to increasing overall efficiency in your contracting process, often by freeing up more time for your employees. Small tasks that do not require any hands-on intervention can be automated and left to your software, allowing your employees to instead focus their attention on researching innovations, pursuing leads, and prioritizing your company’s strategic objectives. It may even increase the rate at which agreements are signed as well as the customer experience by tracking renewal dates and setting reminders about deadlines.
Innovation
Any company working in the healthcare industry has to be ready to adapt to both evolutions in medicine and changes in policies or procedures. Especially in the wake of a global pandemic, compliance requirements are stricter than ever and seem to only grow in complexity with each passing year. Your contracts may need to expand and adapt along with the changes that occur in healthcare regulations at the state and federal level, such as HIPAA and JCAHO. Utilizing a CLM makes this adaptation easier than ever.
As we mentioned, CLMs keep all your contracts in one safe and convenient online location. Having a database such as this also allows for the use of search functions. If you wish to make changes to a template or a certain type of contract’s language, all you need to do is search for the clauses you want to change and quickly make amends. The ability of your CLM to track versions of documents ensures anyone else who then accesses the templates from that point onward will be aware of the changes as well and utilize the correct document when creating new contracts in the future.
CLM databases also permit data tracking. Keeping track of renewals, contract lifespans, payment obligations, and pricing changes helps managers locate problem areas in the contract lifecycle and work to find solutions that will create a better experience for all parties involved. There is a gold mine of important data locked away in every company’s contracts. Easy access to that data may be the stepping stone you need to boost your organization to the next level.
CLM may seem like an overwhelming investment to take on, in terms of time, work, and budget. But it is a necessary expenditure in the modern world of contracting, where remote work is quickly becoming a normal part of working life and contract data represents a major untapped resource for company-wide innovation. With new CLM solutions popping into the market each day, every organization should be able to find a tool that caters to their unique contract needs.
