Author: Andre Oentoro, founder of Breadnbeyond
One of the primary reasons why businesses fail to meet their objectives on time, or not at all, is due to ineffective contract management. This means that somewhere along the way, miscommunication, or oversight has led to a breakdown in communication between both parties. This article will help you understand why you need effective contract management, its advantages, and how it can help you today.
What is contract management, and why is it important?
When working with contracts, you need to keep tabs on all of your contracts and the details surrounding them. Without an organised system, it’s easy for things to get messy fast and for your business to suffer as a result.
Contract management is a process that ensures the proper implementation of contracts in all stages of their lifecycle. It is a crucial part of business operations as it ensures that all parties are adhering to the terms and conditions set out in the contract.
It is an essential management process that ensures that all stakeholders are aware of the nature and value of their relationship, as well as their responsibilities and any potential risks involved. Contract management enables compliance with regulatory requirements, reduces the risk of disputes, and supports the achievement of business objectives.
Contracts are a critical element in any relationship between two or more parties. They are used to facilitating business objectives, manage risk, and facilitate smooth and efficient project or service delivery.
Having an effective contract management process in place ensures that contracts are properly managed throughout their lifecycle. This ensures that all parties adhere to the terms and conditions set out in the contract and that the right people are involved at every stage of the contract management process.
Benefits of having an effective contract management
Contract management has many benefits, both for the business and the vendor. Let’s take a look at some key advantages of having an effective contract management process:
1) Better customer service
When a business adheres to the terms of the contract, it is adhering to the expectations of its customers. This is critical for building customer satisfaction and retention. Remember that at the end of the day, happy customers lead to business longevity.
2) Effective risk management
When a contract is properly managed, it helps to mitigate the associated risks. Contract management allows you to understand the nature of the relationship, the level of expected outcomes, and the obligations of both parties.
This helps reduce uncertainty and risk throughout the lifecycle of the contract. You can also opt for training videos to ensure that everyone involved is on the same page.
3) Improved financial health
Financial health is a crucial element in any business operation. When a business has the right contracts in place, it knows what costs are expected. This helps to mitigate financial risks and allows the business to forecast its revenue more accurately. It also enables the business to forecast its cash needs more accurately, making it easier to manage its cash flow.
4) Smooth operations
A properly managed contract helps to streamline operations by removing any unnecessary paperwork. This makes it easier for organizations to never miss a contract deadline. Also, they can scale and remain agile– which are some important factors to stay relevant in a fast-paced marketplace.
5) Better contract compliance
Contract management ensures that the terms and conditions of the contract are adhered to by all parties. This helps to reduce the risk of non-compliance, which can have a significant impact on the business.
6) Improved business reputation
A greater reputation (both offline and offline) is what makes a business trustworthy and gains a competitive advantage.
By all means, when a business has a strong reputation for adhering to the terms of its contracts, it makes it easier to win new customers and retains those repeated ones. After all, customers expect the same level of commitment from new vendors that they received from the current ones.
7) Better contract governance
Contract governance refers to the oversight and control of your contracts. This ensures that all contracts are properly documented, have the necessary approval, and are adhered to by all parties. Contract governance is critical for organizations that want to remain compliant with regulatory requirements.
Conclusion
Contract management is a crucial part of business operations and enables compliance with regulatory requirements, risk reduction, and smooth and efficient project or service delivery. It is an essential management process that ensures that all stakeholders are aware of the nature and value of their relationship, as well as their responsibilities and any potential risks involved.
Having an effective contract management process in place ensures that all contracts are properly managed throughout their lifecycle, allowing organizations to achieve their business objectives.
All hyped up and ready to go?
Take Contractify for a spin to discover how it can improve your processes for free.
