Contract Management: The Law Department Perspective

Abstract

A recent survey conducted by International Quality & Productivity Center (IQPC) indicated that Contract Management was seen to be the most important priority for leading US and European General Counsel. So, what exactly is contract management and why is it becoming so important for organizations?

Until recently, the contract management process had been largely manual and disjointed for many companies. Each business and functional unit often has its own set of contracts and contract processes. Across the company, this then results in duplication of work, multiple copies of contract documents, unmanaged repositories of contract documents and poor monitoring of contract terms and obligations. It is not uncommon for companies not to know to what they are obligated or to misplace executed contracts.