Digital transformation presents formidable challenges–it often requires long and extensive evaluations, difficult internal selling, and a complete overhaul of legacy systems and entrenched processes. In Hormel Food Corporation’s case, those entrenched processes meant managing business contract workflows in Excel, using email for negotiations, and a whole host of additional manual work. In this webinar session, we dove into how Hormel managed to streamline their contracting processes. Here are a few takeaways from the conversation.
Key Takeaways
- Challenge the status quo. To align with a company-wide initiative to transform and modernize, Hormel’s legal team conducted an audit on internal processes. As part of the process, their team asked themselves–why are we doing things this way? Is there something we should stop doing because it doesn’t make sense? And is there an opportunity to do something we haven’t been doing?
- Look for a system that scales. A key consideration for the Hormel team when evaluating CLMs was a tool that didn’t need a lot of customization from the IT department. They searched for a system that was user-friendly off the shelf, but was flexible enough that down the line if something needed to be updated, it could be done without IT.
- Tips for rapid implementation. Sue focused on two areas for implementation–automating high-volume, time-sensitive contracts like Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and complex contracts with multiple variations. She recommended learning to build complex workflows with multiple variations first in order to use that as a starting point for any future workflows.
- Adoption and increased visibility for partners. With Ironclad as the single source of truth for contracts, partners in procurement, sales, and IT had a singular area to collaborate with visibility into the contract process. This system not only facilitated collaboration, but also lead to increased turnaround times.
Interested in seeing how Ironclad can help you streamline your contracting processes? Talk to one of our digital contracting specialists and get a custom demo.
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.
