Nearly 10% of annual revenue is lost to poor contract management. It’s a galling reality, particularly when you consider that it’s totally avoidable. All you need is a good contract reporting system – which is easier acknowledged than acquired.
Any business that understands the limitations of the traditional Excel-based system and has approached the market for a solution knows the hurdles: what’s out there is generally too complex for your needs and too expensive. Even if you think it’s still worth it, approval from management is unlikely forthcoming.
The solution is an affordable suite of dashboards that allow you to proactively manage contracts and stop the bottleneck of roll-overs and expiries. This is precisely what Comprara’s Contract Reporting Dashboards offer.
Why you need a specific Contract Reporting System
Excel doesn’t cut the mustard
Every company has some form of ERP system, but not many have a specific contract management system. Instead, these companies rely on Excel spreadsheets to keep track of contracts. The problem is, this type of software is totally inadequate.
Many businesses have at least half a dozen contract managers, each with their own Excel file, set up how they like it, managed in their own way (if at all). There is no centralised database for all the company’s active contracts; there is no single point of truth.
This system doesn’t allow for proactive contract management. There is no alert system for contracts coming to the end of their lifecycle. Contracts consistently rollover with no end-date update, or expire when the spreadsheet still says they’re active.
Lost opportunities
That 10% quoted above is an estimate. What companies lose from poor contract management can only be guessed at because it’s impossible to know what opportunities they’ve missed out on.
When a contract comes to the end of its lifecycle, the market needs to be revisited to see what’s changed and what a good deal looks like now. What was agreed to twelve months ago may have been mutually beneficial then, but not so under present conditions.
When contracts roll over or expire without knowledge, contract managers miss the chance to secure a better deal. 10% is in all likelihood a conservative estimate of what companies are losing when operating without a good contract reporting system.
What ProcureTRAK’s Contract Tracker can do
With our Contract Tracker suite of dashboards, contract managers get a concise and consumable presentation of:
- The number and value of all active contracts
- The same for contracts awarded within the last 12 months
- The number of contracts expiring with the next 12 months
The contracts can also be broken down into:
- A value bracket distribution
- The type of market approach
- Category group and category distribution
Our Expiring Contracts dashboard is what truly allows for proactive management, though. Here, at a glance, managers get a calendar view of where every contract is at. Colour-coded based on expiry date, it’s easy to see which contracts require action, and who the manager is that needs to be alerted so they can set up a supplier meeting or prepare a new approach to market. What contracts need action now? Which ones need action next month? The month after? This dashboard allows you to plan and free up the bottleneck of expiring contracts.
There are also plenty of filters to play with, such as filtering by contract manager. All of these features are designed for easy contract management. Unlike separate Excel files for each manager, this is a centralised system where all contracts for the company are monitored. It’s easy and intuitive to use and allows the contract to be followed closely throughout its lifecycle.
Looking ahead, our Procurements in Progress dashboard shows what contracts are under planning, their total value, what stage they’re at and what, if any, actions need to be taken. Again, this data is broken down by:
- Value bracket distribution
- Market approach
- Category distribution
- Category manager
Get on top of contract management cost-effectively
A standardised approach to contract management is what every company needs, as well as a way to easily track deals throughout their lifecycle. Our suite of Contract Tracking dashboards is affordable and intuitive. Compared to the efficiency it delivers, it’s one of the most cost-effective procurement platforms on offer. Get in touch with Purchasing Index today and start getting on top of your contract management.
