Contracts are increasingly difficult to manage

Contracts are increasingly
difficult to manage

You have more contracts than ever before. They are more complex. They are more diverse. And they are becoming more and more interdependent.

There is a rising diversity of business relationships and business is increasingly multi-national and multi-currency in nature. The result: more-and more complex-contracts to manage.

At the same time, technological innovation, past contract failures, globalisation of trade and new laws are continually adding to this complexity. A publishing contract that used to cover books must now deal with a whole variety of media plus merchandising rights.

Competitive pressures and the need for stable long-term relationships with customers, suppliers and partners have driven increasing customisation, more collaboration, and intricate terms and conditions covering areas such as performance and incentives.

"The average Fortune 1000 company has between 20,000 and 40,000 active contracts, up 20% in the last 5 years"

The US National Association of Purchasing Managers

The personnel necessary to negotiate, support and manage effective contracts, including service level agreements, are expensive to train and retain. Staff turnover undermines efforts to maintain expertise and best practice.