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    What is Contract Operations?

    Contract operations is a key, often overlooked, cross-functional business need that manages the entire lifecycle of an organization’s contracts from initiation and drafting to execution and renewal or termination. 

    This function is also responsible for managing the technology, workflows, and capacity necessary for efficient contract management. Contract operations sit in the white space between teams which means it often lacks funding and leadership. At LegalSifter, we recognize contract operations as a distinct function that most businesses don’t have but absolutely need.

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    Why Organizations Need Contract Operations

    Contracts are the backbone of any business, involving numerous departments such as legal, sales, finance, and any function that purchases goods or services. Despite their importance, contracts are often “owned” by everyone yet effectively managed by no one. This leads to inefficiencies, increased risks, and missed opportunities.

    Effective contract operations give organizations:

    • An efficient option to quickly create, review, and negotiate safe contracts
    • Visibility of what’s in their contracts 
    • Predictable costs
    • Contract-specific AI, expertise, and people to create speed and quality in contracting 

    CONTRACT OPERATIONS FRAMEWORK

    18 Responsibilities of Effective Contract Operations

    Effective contract operations includes the specific work needed throughout the contract lifecycle, along with the operational support required to manage the people, processes, and technologies that keep everything running smoothly. This framework includes 18 key responsibilities that ensure efficiency, risk management, and strategic value in the management of contracts.

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    Explore the interactive Contract Operations Framework graphic by clicking on its elements to learn more.
    Automated Review & Approval
    Negotiation Playbook(s)
    Human Review & Approval
    Document Repository
    Document & Data Management
    Obligation Tracking
    Document Assembly
    Contract Analysis
    Contract Templates
    M&A Project Support
    Change Management
    CLM Administration
    Before You Sign
    After You Sign
    Managing It All

    Effective Contract Operations

    People
    AI Software
    Expertise

    Contract Templates

    What Success Looks Like:

    People with the expertise and time (in-house or services) draft, update, and improve templates and clause libraries specific to business needs.

    People
    Expertise

    Document Assembly

    What Success Looks Like:

    Forms within functional business systems generate specific contract documents on legal-approved standard templates.

    AI Software

    Automated Review & Approval

    What Success Looks Like:

    AI quickly, accurately, and consistently reviews contracts and documents, identifying missing concepts, flagging risks, and suggesting redlines for collaboration with counterparties.

    AI Software
    Expertise

    Negotiation Playbook(s)

    What Success Looks Like:

    Time and expertise support the creation and maintenance of negotiation playbooks, moving information out of individuals’ heads into clear structures to enable AI tools and distribute consistent review and negotiating responsibilities.

    People
    Expertise

    Human Review & Approval

    What Success Looks Like:

    Expertise and capacity ensure contracts are reviewed, negotiated, and approved without slowing down business operations.

    People
    Expertise

    Document Repository

    What Success Looks Like:

    A centralized, secure repository with organized document hierarchies and metadata extraction allows easy search by type, metadata, and content.

    AI Software

    Document & Data Management

    What Success Looks Like:

    People with expertise and time organize, map, migrate, and populate documents in the repository, defining, extracting, and verifying accurate data.

    People
    Expertise

    Obligation Tracking

    What Success Looks Like:

    Individual contract dates, obligations, and commitments are operationalized and tracked to reduce non-compliance, revenue leakage, missed commitments, and unwanted renewals or terminations.

    AI Software

    Contract Analysis

    What Success Looks Like:

    Contract summaries, compliance checks, negotiation efficiency metrics, and market insights drive better business decisions and increase negotiation speed.

    AI Software
    Expertise

    M&A Project Support

    What Success Looks Like:

    Time and expertise support contract organization and analysis during M&A projects.

    People
    Expertise

    CLM Administration

    What Success Looks Like:

    People with the expertise and time (in-house or services) configure and administer the CLM system, ensuring users, permissions, workflows, and accounts are current.

    People
    Expertise

    Business System Integration

    What Success Looks Like:

    New contracts are initiated and managed within existing business systems, with commitments and key terms from signed contracts populated into operational systems.

    AI Software
    Expertise

    Training & Tech Support

    What Success Looks Like:

    People, plans, and expertise ensure effective cross-functional training, seamless technology implementation, and quick resolution of user issues.

    People
    Expertise

    Budgeting

    What Success Looks Like:

    A lower, predictable budget with positive ROI enables flexibility across internal and outsourced capabilities.

    People
    Expertise

    Capacity

    What Success Looks Like:

    Internal and external capacity meet the contract workload, focusing people on core functional responsibilities.

    People

    Workflow Administration

    What Success Looks Like:

    Flexible cross-functional workflows, rules, and routings accelerate contract operations and reduce risk.

    AI Software
    Expertise

    Process, Policies, and Roles

    What Success Looks Like:

    Defined processes, roles, and responsibilities provide clear policy thresholds for approvals, legal involvement, and workflow routing.

    People
    Expertise

    Change Management

    What Success Looks Like:

    Planning, communication, and change management drive cross-functional implementation, adoption, and continuous improvement.

    People
    Expertise
    Process, Policies, and Roles
    Workflow Administration
    Capacity
    Budgeting
    Training & Tech Support
    Business System Integration

    You may also be interested in:

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    BLOG POST

    Understanding Contract Operations: The Intersection of Legal and All Other Business Functions

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    The 4 Cornerstones of Effective Contract Operations

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    PODCAST

    Revolutionizing Contract Management with Artificial Intelligence

    This podcast series dives deep into how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the complex and often daunting world of contract management.

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    Discover smarter and more efficient contract management. Connect with us and see the difference LegalSifter makes for you.