Procurement and supply chain leaders are always on the lookout for ways to increase the speed of their processes by eliminating inefficient activities. Why? Because these activities can come in the form of delays, which can negatively affect not only support, service level agreements, and material flows, but may even result in penalties for time-sensitive contracts. These types of delayed responses could ultimately result in lost business opportunities, increased costs, unrecognized savings, and increased compliance risk in any operation.
So what are your options when it comes to preventing these types of delays? This is where Electronic Signature solutions make their way into your life, to do more than prevent delays, but instead streamline an entire set of processes. Electronic signatures play a vital role in the elimination of the need to secure a physical signature on every contract that passes through your halls.
Apart from being a tedious time sink, the task of tracking down and securing signatures can also cause delays during the contract management process. Contracts typically act as the basis for governing relationships between customers, partners, vendors or service providers, and there is often “V” and “C- level” approval or authorization required before execution can begin. Automating this decision through the use of electronic signatures reduces the manual elements and shortens the time spent in securing signatures.
Creating the electronic record as part of the standard process for contract approval further enforces and supports the automation of the entire contract management process. The same electronic record also plays a role in supporting processes, such as order-to-cash and procure-to-pay activities. The chart below demonstrates the adoption of electronic signatures for Best-in-Class companies compared to All Others:
The first key process area using electronic signatures is contract management, which is the backbone of purchasing, sourcing, and supplier management processes for procurement. The same can also be said for customer contracts as well, being the underlying glue of customer relationships. Best-in-Class companies are more than twice as likely compared to All Others to have electronic signatures as part of their contract management solution.
If your organization is looking for ways to speed up their contract management process, electronic signature benefits truly speak for themselves.
