To keep pace with rapid innovation–especially in the AI space–digital transformation has become paramount to both stay ahead of the curve and streamline inefficiencies. And while contract lifecycle management (CLM) systems are traditionally associated with legal teams, we see many different parts of the organization harnessing Ironclad in innovative ways.
Take buy-side contracts. Touched by legal, procurement, IT, finance, and other teams, the cross-functional nature of buy-side contract lifecycle often presents a number of process and efficiency challenges. But with a CLM in place that offers a single source of truth and automates review, negotiation, and approvals, teams across the org can work faster and more effectively. Plus, the advantages are not limited to reducing paperwork or eliminating manual tasks; CLMs equipped with AI capabilities can actively layer in things like error detection, bulk legacy contract metadata ingestion, and redline suggestions, taking buy-side contract processing to unprecedented levels of efficiency.
Using Ironclad to Supercharge the Buy-Side
As the leading AI-powered digital contracting platform for modern legal and procurement teams, we’ve built those advantages directly into our CLM–especially considering that the number of workflows launched year over year has grown over 70%.
But don’t take our word for it: when asked about her experience with Ironclad for buy-side contracts, Cara Hendrickson, Director of Category Management Operations at Ferguson Enterprises, said, “With the successful implementation of Ironclad, we have been able to achieve faster and more collaborative buy-side contracting in multiple areas. It’s helped us transform our practices in ways we had not considered previously, enabling us to expand the process across our business.”
More Buy-Side Contracting Innovation Coming Soon
Today, we’re excited to build on this existing innovation and introduce even more enhancements to our existing buy-side contracting functionalities. Announced at yesterday’s Ironclad Live: NYC event, they cover a range of features that, when coupled with AI Smart Import, AI Playbooks, and Custom Clauses from the Ironclad AI suite, help teams centralize buy-side contracting, ensure compliance, procure quickly, all while actively managing spend.
Let’s take a look.
Quickly see exactly where your contracts stand with new Contract Status feature.
The status of agreements is a vital piece of information that teams need visibility into to keep workflows running smoothly. With the “Contract Status” feature, which enters a beta later this month, teams will be able to see the status of a contract based on its effective data, renewal type, and expiration date wherever records are available, including the in Ironclad Repository, on the dashboard, and in workflows, reminders, and search. The statuses themselves will have several subtypes, including:
- Auto-Renewing
- Expiring
- Expired
- Terminated
- Executed
- Evergreen
What’s more is that these statuses will be actionable. That is, users will be able to manually control the status of the contract based on business decisions external to the platform. They’ll also be able to set up contract reminders to suit their needs based on dates and record properties.
Stay on top of obligations with Auto-Renewals
Currently in a closed beta and being made generally available in September, this obligation management feature will allow users to automatically renew contracts that they have labeled “auto-renewing” in the platform. As part of the automation, contract metadata like expiration dates will also be updated and made available to analyze and report on via Ironclad Insights.
Mitigate risk with enhanced OneTrust integration
On the risk and compliance side, we will also soon beta-release another integration with privacy and security software provider OneTrust. This integration helps users ensure compliance and mitigate risk by pulling in existing vendor details from OneTrust to create a contract in Ironclad and simultaneously create a new engagement or assessment in OneTrust. If there are no existing vendors associated with a contract, users can also create a new vendor in OneTrust.
Make counterparty complexity simple with Entities
Legal entities aren’t just a name in a contract; they’re a complex object that acts as a fundamental building block for organizing, finding, and acting on contract data across all stages. So we’ve turned legal entities into an object within Ironclad that represents a unified view of all data about the parties in a contract. Users will be able to create parties and counter parties, add parties to a contract, import party objects, view metadata describing a party and its place in the hierarchy of organization relationships, generate reports based on party, and more. This feature launches in a closed beta in July.
An Immersive Afternoon in New York City
Beyond product demos and deep dives into these buy-side contracting features, Ironclad Live: NYC, held at the iconic Historical Society Museum & Library, also featured a keynote from Ironclad CEO Jason Boehmig and spotlights on customers who shared how they’ve leveraged Ironclad to bring workflow efficiencies to a number of teams–not just legal. Tune in to hear from customers like Cara from Ferguson and Katelyn Canning from Ocrulus tell their stories about how Ironclad has helped supercharge their buy-side contracting.
The Future of Buy-Side Contracting
After hearing customers across industries and sizes share their CLM experiences, one thing is more clear than ever: CLMs and buy-side contracting are better together. So we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to make that combination as powerful as it can be, and industry experts have noticed. Ironclad was recently named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Buy-Side Contract Life-Cycle Management Applications 2023 Vendor Assessment (doc #US48785822, March 2023), and Research Director of Procurement and Enterprise Apps, Patrick Reymann, shared that “Ironclad’s strengths include buy-side capabilities for their no-code workflow customization and providing users with the capability to quickly develop and deploy tailored workflows that drive improved efficiency and automation.”
As we build throughout the year, we’ll continue exploring the ways that a CLM can have an outsized impact for any organization. Stay tuned for updates, and if you missed our live event in NYC, make sure to catch the highlights and keynote reel. Onward!
Ironclad is not a law firm, and this post does not constitute or contain legal advice. To evaluate the accuracy, sufficiency, or reliability of the ideas and guidance reflected here, or the applicability of these materials to your business, you should consult with a licensed attorney. Use of and access to any of the resources contained within Ironclad’s site do not create an attorney-client relationship between the user and Ironclad.
