Introduction – what is contract analysis?
Contract analysis – as the name suggests, is a framework designed to analyze contracts using a variety of technological tools, including AI, ML, NLP, and computer vision. Namely, clause extraction through Document AI and IDP (Intelligent Document Processing) are the highpoint of such processes, serving their rightful purpose. Information can be monitored throughout contract lifecycles – be it clause modifications or even financial updates.
So, let’s delve into the specifics surrounding contract analysis, spanning its scope, how it works and where it’s most suited. Let us also discuss about the benefits of implementing XtractEdge Contract Analysis solution.
Why is contract analysis necessary?
Contract analysis is an innovative and revolutionary method of accessing contracts on a live on demand basis. Data is electronically stored and fed as well as retrieved on demand. This ‘standby’ protocol ensures consistent availability of what needs to be known, as and when required. We should clearly differentiate between analysis and review – where the latter merely revises and visits existing information for renewal or negotiation, whereas the former scrutinizes everything from scratch. Either way, both facilitate informed decision making.
Creative methods to curate data makes it easier to analyze and improve existing processes and drive further efficiency. The result? Quicker workflows available at scale and incurring lower costs. This becomes both an ergonomic and a resource friendly interactive interface for stakeholders. With this empowerment, actionable insights and better deliverables can ensue. Why don’t we explore just some of the many benefits contract analysis has to offer brands?
Benefits of Contract Analysis
- Contract risk analysis salvages companies from entering uncharted territory by identifying and mapping liabilities and risky areas, whilst creating and exploring new revenue channels
- Informed decision making for better financial outcomes and rationalized decisions, based on data intelligence. This drives strategic accuracy by sensing anomalies
- Reduced error making by reviewing previous data, learning from mistakes, and implementing future solutions. Welcome to a sustainable future framework with the best ideas – here we come!
- Increased compliance levels can be achieved via preparing, drafting, negotiating, approving, executing, auditing and finally, renewing contracts. The digitized status updates promote this
- Collaborative virtual workflows assist in apt and appropriate dynamic data extraction for streamlined as well as meaningful insights. This boosts revenue capacity
- Information summarization via contract analysis software eases the process of consolidating data for comparative as well as informative purposes. This drives data analytics
- Revenue protective mechanisms and time management ensures efficient as well as productive pathways to facilitate specialized automated mechanisms. This highlights data aberrations
- Safeguarding within platforms boosts versatility, robustness against adverse events, stoic security and intricate encryption pathways for ultimate dependability. Even visibility is enhanced
- Minimal IT intervention to promote universal accessibility across the board, irrespective of specific training. This makes it ergonomically operable by just about anyone!
XtractEdge Contract Analysis: features
EdgeVerve’s very own in-house innovative contract analysis solution XtractEdge offers a host of stellar advantages and intuitive features. Let’s walk through just some of these benefits:
M&A – Due Diligence: Explore customer, regulatory and supplier responsibilities of the specified brand whilst performing diligence and when under scrutiny. Clauses and templates sync via post-merger integration, promptly resolving to normalcy.
Lease Abstraction: Detect and map specific details from voluminous lease documents and segregate it for user tracking, review, and convenient updates. Then one can export abstracts to existing CLMs or Lease Management Systems.
Third Party Contracts can be cumbersome to handle, owing to external template usage. We can extract and process huge volumes and then identify plus interpret their terms.
Regulatory Compliance: Gain control of contractual scope within an evolving and reactive regulatory environment, such as geopolitically induced frameworks.
Procurement: Manage supplier contract risk and ever evolving vendor ecosystems. Find pertinent clauses and terms which are (deeply) embedded within these contracts.
Finance: avoid revenue leakage and never overlook opportunities to capitalize on revenue or profitability via promotional offers and rebates from sneaky embedded ‘lost’ clauses.
Legal: Ensure that imperative contracts are legally reviewed, while automatically fulfilling clauses with standard language.
Divestitures: Comprehend assignability contract rights and track controllability modifications. These determining clauses decide the contractual obligations that lie with the divested entity of the parent company.
Contract Intelligence: Identify dangers and deviations from default roles whilst negotiating contracts.
The future of contract analysis
Whilst contract analysis packages offer promising potential, which is certainly an undeniable fact, there’s still much more room for improvement. Integrating these features more with IoT and apps will only serve to offer real time and accessible contract analysis of legal document assistance on the go. Although this infrastructure is somewhat already in place, its sluggish adoption hinders harnessing the full potential of what could be a truly unified solution for virtually any stakeholder, across various industries. Any domain could benefit from such efficient and speedy pathways.
It doesn’t end there either – oh no: this is merely the commencement of another unending chapter, consisting of unpredictable technical hiccups yet learning experiences en route. Perplexed? Allow me to explain – consider driving processes which rely on the faster pathways of document processing (such as IDP). Now think about how such data can be truly fortified and analyzed in such a manner, so as to provide any reader with insights into every single word in a given document. Seems like a big ask, doesn’t it? Not quite – this is where automation enters the arena.
Which brings us onto the last thought of today – a robust system will be a sustainable one too, enduring just about any untoward event ever thrown at it. Given this potential, it only remains to be seen why more and more brands still are yet to adopt this type of intelligence-based technology. The faster we all collectively do so, the quicker we’d have a universal language to exchange documents with – i.e. contract analysis!
Final thoughts
So, to summarize, the real hindrance doesn’t lie within the concept of contract analysis itself – but rather its uptake and implementation throughout every possible industry. Just imagine courts promptly referencing terms within hearing using such setups. Perhaps with this solution, the associated conventional litigation disputes may also reduce, owing to better mutual understanding.
What a more united world we’d then be able to thrive in, courtesy of technological advancements empowering us with science to be better human beings. Hey, the mere thought just makes me misty eyed – what about you? Sadly, the world doesn’t operate on such simple underlying principles though…if only!
Ingrid Maldine is a business writer, editor and management consultant with extensive experience writing and consulting for both start-ups and long established companies. She has ten years management and leadership experience gained at BSkyB in London and Viva Travel Guides in Quito, Ecuador, giving her a depth of insight into innovation in international business. With an MBA from the University of Hull and many years of experience running her own business consultancy, Ingrid’s background allows her to connect with a diverse range of clients, including cutting edge technology and web-based start-ups but also multinationals in need of assistance. Ingrid has played a defining role in shaping organizational strategy for a wide range of different organizations, including for-profit, NGOs and charities. Ingrid has also served on the Board of Directors for the South American Explorers Club in Quito, Ecuador.