5 Benefits of Contract Analytics that Help You Create Value & Long-Term Success for Your Organization

Lawyers in the digital era need data analytics to identify and amplify the sources of value in contracts and contract processes as well as reduce or eliminate any detrimental factors. The analytical capabilities of the Parley Pro platform help lawyers expand their role as business strategists and guide companies in optimizing all stages of contract lifecycle management (CLM). Here are 5 key benefits that contract analytics will bring to your organization:

1. Ease and improve risk management.

Lawyers, procurement professionals, financial executives, and others can configure Parley Pro reports and dashboards to consistently update them on the data and insights most relevant to their roles. Continual monitoring and reporting make it easier to spot irregularities, such as when a supplier defaults, and identify variations that create risk, such as when departments drop clauses or add non-standard terms. 

Enhanced visibility ensures that team members can quickly respond to internal investigations, regulatory requests, and major legislative changes. For example, the appropriate personnel can develop reports that meet governance and compliance requirements, such as when the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires evidence of internal controls. 

The transition away from LIBOR requires many companies to first identify contracts that require modification, then to renegotiate their terms. Parley Pro finds and flags the relevant contracts, a valuable benefit when up to 71% of companies can’t find at least 10% of their contracts. Parley Pro also allows the parties to re-sign, renegotiate, or wind-down contracts in one easy location. Contract analytics allow you to understand all the terms and obligations in each of your contracts to identify and reduce risk. 

2. Accurately track expiration and renewal dates.

People have manually tracked contract expiration dates and milestones for centuries. Otherwise, contracts may expire without anyone knowing or automatically renew under less favorable terms than originally negotiated. For decades, Excel was the tool of choice for monitoring contract dates and milestones. However, as a society that can now locate planets in distant galaxies and modify its own DNA, it’s time to expect more certainty and precision.

Parley Pro accurately tracks dates and events and automates reliable and timely notifications to keep everyone updated (making Excel and email seem as efficient as the Pony Express in comparison). CLM dashboards show all team members instantly who is responsible for what activities, which promotes a culture of collaboration and accountability. Setting Parley Pro to alert for upcoming events such as contract expirations, automatic renewals, and payment due dates ensures decision-makers have plenty of time to review relevant data and determine the most effective action to take. 

3. Reduce contract cycle times.

Organizations that can close deals quickly remain more competitive in fast-moving industries. Because up to 95% of a contract’s cycle time is spent on non-productive work delays, it’s a prime area for automation. 

CLM software eliminates hassles that cause delays. All parties work on a single version of a contract to avoid accidentally using an unapproved or out-of-date version. Parley Pro tracks the review chain using timestamps to note rejections, changes, and approvals. Stakeholders can quickly log in to get answers about who did what, when, and how an issue began. CLM automatically routes contracts and reminds parties of upcoming review deadlines and unresolved issues to keep negotiations moving forward. Meanwhile, dashboards keep the whole team updated on each contract’s status. 

Identify where bottlenecks hold back progress and convert predictable manual tasks to time-saving automated workflows. Parley Pro’s automated contract creation feature lets employees initiate new agreements using standard, pre-approved templates, which saves your legal team time spent on sending back contracts for language revisions. Reducing contract cycle times speeds time-to-market for products and accelerates revenue gains to boost your bottom line faster.

4. Create and identify revenue opportunities.

Customizable dashboards give financial, legal, and executive leaders an immediate overview of the company’s health. They can monitor contract performance and derive actionable insights that help them develop and maintain more efficient, streamlined operations. Gartner predicts that by 2024, the degree of manual effort required for the contract review process will be halved in enterprises that adopt advanced contract analytics and contract management analytics solutions.

As an existing contract reaches its expiration or renewal date, you’ll want to know: Do its terms still meet current business goals? Should you renegotiate or let the relationship lapse? Where can you save money? Contract analytics help determine how a contract has performed. Run analytical reports to quickly get answers based on data rather than spending days gathering somewhat relevant information and making your best guess.  

The ability to access data-backed insights in minutes also helps ensure negotiators achieve more favorable results. Negotiators can make financially sound decisions with a clear understanding of the company’s contract portfolio. 

5. Learn from the past and replicate success.

Parley Pro allows you to continually collect, organize, and measure contracting data at scale. Visually appealing charts and graphs help us interpret the stories data tell. Over time, data reveals and quantifies sources of value, positive outcomes, and advantages along with obstacles, limitations, and shortcomings. That means you can help the organization learn from its past to replicate its successes and avoid future pitfalls. Make intentional, proactive, evidence-based decisions, confident that data guides your strategies. 

Track and analyze each contract’s performance and regularly assess portfolio KPIs. Set benchmarks for improving functional effectiveness and efficiency. Monitor and evaluate data to help decision-makers choose options that maximize growth and revenue opportunities. Your Parley Pro dashboard ensures all the benefits of contract analytics continue to work for you so you can focus on creating value and long-term success for your organization.