Contract Heroes
Live In Vegas: How to Speed Up and Scale Up Procurement with Agile Contracting
Episode Summary
Can you imagine a symphony without harmony, a ship without a compass, or a puzzle missing its final piece? In the world of business, the relationship between procurement and legal is equally indispensable. So, have you ever wondered what happens when these crucial departments don't quite harmonize in the realm of contract management? In this episode of the Contract Heroes Podcast, we are excited to welcome back Prashant Dubey, the chief strategy officer of Agiloft to the show. Agiloft is a technology company specializing in contract lifecycle management and business process management software in Redwood City, California. During our conversation, we discussed the importance of building a better relationship between procurement and legal, and the evolving nature of contract management. We highlight the benefits of creating a negotiation playbook, implementing a contract lifecycle management system, and standardizing templates and intake protocols. We also address the challenges of training team members on legal terminology and contract management, and the importance of collaboration and flexibility in implementing Agiloft practices.
Episode Notes
WHAT WE DISCUSS:
- [00:33] - How procurement can improve their relationship with legal
- [04:50] - The concept of a negotiation playbook
- [09:40] - The importance of standardizing templates and intake protocols
- [10:16] - The role of lawyers in template selection and the impact on the procurement process
- [11:17] - Dynamic template creation
- [13:26] - Triage and work queue management
- [20:43] - The importance of a robust contract repository
- [22:44] - Creating a negotiation playbook
- [28:57] - The importance of readiness and preparation for CLM implementation
- [32:08] - Training newer folks on legal terms
- [34:00] - Collaboration between sourcing and legal departments
- [37:55] - Challenges with control from general counsel
- [41:51] - The challenges of implementing Agiloft in the healthcare industry
- [42:43] - The importance of getting stakeholders excited and involved in the implementation process
- [43:43] - Resources for Agiloft implementation
NOTABLE QUOTES:
- [02:50] - “A lot of contract management has been focused on indirect procurement and the buy side. The sell-side has also been a focus. But historically we've noticed that it's actually born from the buy side.” - Prashant
- [03:43] - “The relationship between procurement and legal sometimes has bordered on adversarial because business drivers for procurement organizations are not just how do I get the best price and consolidate vendors, but it's really about managing categories from a strategic perspective .” - Prashant
- [08:51] - “Most CLM systems of basic functionality will have the ability to have a playbook in place with a clause library, fallback provisions that you can select a way to tag those particular provisions with different levels of risk or desirability from a company's perspective.” - Prashant
- [11:36] - “Sometimes intake can drive that dynamic creation of a template using clauses that are ultimate provisions that you can use having a base template and then using alternate provisions based on the intake requirements to create something that's purpose-built for the transaction.” - Prashant
- [21:00] - “It takes a pretty high degree of maturity as an organization to have a robust single source of truth repository that's high integrity that people rely on.” - Prashant
- [30:52] “If there's a degree of preparation that involves these kinds of collaborative discussions, it creates a good foundation for trust between the organizations.” - Prashant
USEFUL RESOURCES & LINKS: