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Design > Web-Enabled
Management Contract Systems
Web Design
Web Enabled Systems
Web Contract Management
Web Company Structure
Technologies
have now matured that allow
an efficient, cost-effective
implementation of computer-based
contract management tracking
system.
Contracts are an important
part of every organization
and with the increased demands
on managers, negotiators,
legal departments and employees,
it is very easy to mismanage
contracts. For many organizations
it is difficult to track
timely and accurate information
about their contracts. Oftentimes,
the inability to track payments,
budgets, renewal terms and
volume discounts can cost
companies valuable resources,
such as time and money.
Communications between contract
managers, vendors and the
central office are slow,
difficult and expensive.
Overworked staff means that
when questions arise about
data, there is little time
to track down the correct
answer.
Since the best information
about the contracts lies
with the contract manager,
legal department or vendor,
the project manager and
accounting departments
have little or no knowledge
of the terms, approved
budget amounts and legal
rights. Unfortunately,
when larger contracts
involve multiple departments,
employees and vendors,
the costs of management
increase. Information
about the contract has,
therefore, typically been
gathered and transmitted
from vendors, employees,
project managers and lawyers,
and sent through the postal
service, e-mail or fax,
and may eventually be
entered into a central
storage system.
Changes to the central
information repository
often lagged far behind
actual changes to the
contract and so changes
to terms, rates and revisions
were prone to errors that
had no easy mechanism
for correction and would
occasionally be lost altogether.
Since key players involved
with the contract may
not have immediate access
to this information, they
could not cross-check
changes, charges, payments
and terms. Inconsistencies
become difficult to identify,
and when they are identified,
they could lead to erroneous
correction, such as duplicate
records and inefficient
communication to key personnel.
All of these problems
make it more difficult
to manage contracts and
their corresponding projects
effectively, and often
add extra costs to the
organizations.
Using the Internet and
Web technologies, the
process of contract management
tracking can overcome
all of these problems
and reduce your contract
costs. Since the Internet
is nearly ubiquitous in
the United States and
most of the rest of the
developed world, and accessible
even in remote regions,
it has become inexpensive
to provide network connectivity
from a central office
to remote locations or
even directly to the key
players themselves. The
cost to the organization
of providing and supporting
this connectivity and
software is very low since
most organizations have
current agreements with
Internet Service Providers
(ISPs).
By using a Web-based
contract management software
solution, data can be
entered by the people
to whom it is most available
and important, but stored
in a central location
and available for sharing.
The legal team can have
access to key legal issues
included in the contract.
The contract managers
can have immediate and
up-to-date information
about the milestones and
deadlines. The accounting
department may access
contractual information
for budgeting, payments
and financial tracking.
Negotiators can have access
to key information when
it is time for renewal
and renegotiating. Central
storage has the benefits
of allowing a systematic
disaster recovery plan;
enforcement of data consistency;
workflow and business
rules; and the opportunity
to concentrate economic
resources and personnel.
A centralized Internet-based
system allows the opportunity
to purchase higher performance,
higher reliability, software,
servers and network components.
Personnel can be used
more effectively by hiring
(or contracting) fewer
individuals with more
experience and training.
Maintenance agreements
will cost less for the
fewer components used
at a single, central location.
The rapid expansion of
the Internet and the Web
has provided an excellent
opportunity for organizations
to increase the efficiency
and lower the cost of
contract management. These
organizations can now
overcome many of the historical
impediments to increasing
the level of service with
only modest investments
in information technology.
A good contract management
system should contain
several "must-have"
features. It should have
built-in security to protect
confidential and strategic
contracts. User name and
password security is typical
in more robust systems
and permit individual,
departmental or group-based
security. The system should
permit multiple users
to access the system simultaneously.
This will enable larger
organizations to communicate
and collaborate about
key contracts without
the inefficiencies mentioned
above. It should provide
ample fields and flexibility
to handle multiple contract
sections and revisions.
This will allow for better
tracking of revisions
and renewal notes.
Good contract management
software will support
the ability to upload
scanned images, files,
spreadsheets and documents
as well as e-mails. This
will centralize your contract
storage and provide a
systematic approach for
recalling and sharing
the actual contract and
supporting files without
involving manual paper-chasing
tasks. An advance notification
system, such as contract-expiring
reports and e-mail notification,
is another must. Since
it is easy to forget about
contract end-dates your
system should support
the ability to enter and
track key dates. Moreover,
a contract management
system should support
a function to track financial
information. This will
supply you with the information
needed when it comes time
to budget, track and negotiate
contract prices, terms
and expenditures. A good
contract management tracking
system can help reduce
your contract management
expenses, help you negotiate
better terms, and ensure
accurate billing and charges.
Larger companies may want
to implement a Web-enabled
system for their contract-management
solution. Web-enabled
solutions reduce the total
cost of implementation
and support because it
is a centralized system
that can be accessed and
used via a Web browser
like Microsoft Internet
Explorer.
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