Contract Management

Welcome to the Proactis Contract Management Content Hub, your one-stop resource centre to automate Contract Management processes
 

What is Contract Management?

Contract Management is the process of managing all types of supplier contracts, and associated purchases, to drive maximum value from every supplier contract. Purchase and delivery activity are automatically collected for analysis of supplier performance and buyer commitments, and contract dates and other criteria are continually monitored, alerting the appropriate people when reviews or actions are needed.1

Purchasing professionals work hard to identify the best suppliers and negotiate ‘best value’ agreements.2 Contracts ‘lock in’ those terms for use by the organisation. But those advantages are lost when contracts are not applied as purchases are made – perhaps because contracts are not available or apparent at the time of buying.
 
 

Contract Management can have many challenges:

  • Contracts are often filed in different places, making it difficult to know where to find a particular contract3 (and virtually impossible to get a consolidated view of liabilities4).
  • Distributed contract management leads to duplicate agreements and missed opportunities for volume-based savings.
  • Contract review dates are often missed, resulting in unexpected lapses and unwanted automatic renewals.5
  • Buyers have no visibility of contracts at point of purchase leading to purchases being made off-contract, resulting in missed savings and poor vendor relationships.
  • Without automatic capture of actual purchase and delivery activity, it is very difficult to measure contract compliance.

Contract Management Problem Solver

Contract Management is an important function that touches every part of a business, from suppliers, employees and sales, to finance and procurement departments. Therefore, the need to have a clear and structured process is more important than ever.

We have been able to help our customers successfully automate and transform the process of storing contracts, utilising contract terms on orders, making payments against contracts, monitoring supplier compliance and recognising when to renew or re-negotiate contracts.
Start using the Contract Management Problem Solver
Contract Management Problem Solver tool

An effective Contract Management solution can deliver key benefits:6

Control and visibility across the entire contract lifecycle.
Control and visibility across the entire contract lifecycle.


Simple sharing of contract information across your organisation.
Simple sharing of contract information across your organisation.


Effective monitoring and assessment of contract agreements.
Effective monitoring and assessment of contract agreements.


Real-time insight into your liabilities.
Real-time insight into your liabilities.
 

The London Borough of Bexley takes next step in ‘future-proofing’ its commissioning cycle by including Proactis Contract Management

“Overall, as an Authority, we are challenged with becoming self-sufficient so using a contract management solution is a really good mechanism to minimise the time and effort within that particular process. Proactis has been a real driver for us to ensure that we capture all the data we need and making it transparent within the system.”

Read the full story

 
The London Borough of Bexley takes next step in ‘future-proofing’ its commissioning cycle by including Proactis Contract Management
With Proactis you can increase the proportion of spend under management and on-contract by providing improved visibility and control of contracts throughout the contract lifecycle, and by ensuring that the organisation consistently utilises them when buying goods and services.

All contracts can be recorded and stored centrally, so you will have complete visibility into all required contract information. You will also always have real-time insight into your financial liabilities and a reliable way of maintaining your extensive contract portfolio.


Learn more about Proactis Contract Management
Contract Management FAQs
What is contract management software?
Purchasing professionals work hard to identify the best suppliers and negotiate ‘best value’ agreements. Contracts ‘lock in’ those terms for use by the organisation. But those advantages are lost when contracts are not applied as purchases are made – perhaps because contracts are not available or apparent at the time of buying. And both organisations may be at risk if contracts expire or if either party fails to maintain compliance with contract provisions.

Contract Management provides a central electronic repository for all types of supplier contracts, with links to purchasing systems that make them fully visible to buyers. Purchase and delivery activity are automatically collected for analysis of supplier performance and buyer commitments, and contract dates and other criteria are continually monitored, alerting the appropriate people when reviews or actions are needed.
What are the challenges that Contract Management can solve?
There are many challenges to bringing spend under contract:
  • Contracts are often filed in different places, making it difficult to know where to find a particular contract (and virtually impossible to get a consolidated view of liabilities).
  • Distributed contract management leads to duplicate agreements and missed opportunities for volume-based savings.
  • Contract review dates are often missed, resulting in unexpected lapses and unwanted automatic renewals.
  • Buyers have no visibility of contracts at point of purchase leading to purchases being made off-contract, resulting in missed savings and poor vendor relationships.
  • Without automatic capture of actual purchase and delivery activity, it is very difficult to measure contract compliance.
Read: Contract management at-a-click
What are the benefits of using a Contract Management system?
Contract Management helps you increase spend "under  management" and "on-contract" by providing improved visibility and control of contracts throughout the contract lifecycle, and by ensuring that the organisation consistently utilises established contracts when buying goods and services. Contract Management enables:
  • Control and visibility across the entire contract lifecycle.
  • Simple sharing of contract information across your organisation.
  • Effective monitoring and assessment of contract agreements.
  • Real-time insight into your liabilities.
Read: Effective Contract Management and Administration
Glossary
Spend Control
The aim of all organisations, to control what is being purchased and to optimise spend and supply chains so they can reach their full potential. Spend control helps to save money and create efficiencies while increasing compliance and reducing risk.

Source-to-Pay (S2P)
A complete end-to-end outsourcing solution, usually made up of component parts - Source-to-Contract (S2C) or Procure-to-Pay (P2P).

Source-to-Contract (S2C)
Part of the end-to-end spend management process that supports the Procurement team in the activities they perform to make qualified suppliers and negotiated best-value agreements available to the organisation for use when they need to buy something.

Procure-to-Pay (P2P)
Also known as Purchase-to-Pay, this is the part of an end-to-end procurement system that enables and manages the routine purchasing of goods and services by an organisation’s staff.

Spend Visibility
The ability for managers to easily access past in process, and potential (request submitted but not yet approved) spend within their realm of responsibility.

Spend Under Management
The portion of spend that is influenced by the Procurement team and their processes.


Procurement / eProcurement
eProcurement and all of its various component terms such as eSourcing, eAuctions, eInvoices, ePayables, etc. are all terms that simply imply the use of information technology and internet-based communications to support the Spend Control process – including all procurement and financial control aspects of that process.

Supply Chain
In its simplest form, a supply chain is the activities required to deliver goods or services to the consumer. When thinking about a service, services will come together to offer an overall customer service, as opposed to a finished product.

Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management is the process of managing the flow of goods and services to and from a business, including every step involved in turning raw components into final services/products and getting them to the customer.

Purchasing
The acquisition of goods and services on behalf of a buying entity.

eInvoice
Broadly speaking, an electronic invoice is any invoice sent by a supplier to the buyer in electronic form rather than as a paper invoice.


Supplier Relationship Management
SRM is building and maintaining a strong supplier base by structuring and streamlining the entire supplier lifecycle – from initial identification to adoption, approval, transaction and analysis.

Marketplace
Sometimes referred to as an eMarketplace, a procurement marketplace is a platform that connects staff with approved suppliers and contract when they are purchasing products and services.

Accounts Payable Automation
An efficient and effective Accounts Payable function supports an organisation’s cashflow and helps build healthy supplier relationships. The process of capturing all incoming invoices and efficiently transform them into optimised eInvoices, and enabling efficient invoice matching/approval in their finance system.



1 Contract Management Training & Accreditation Foundation level: takeaway guide Gov.UK Civil Service Reform Guidance Retrieved 2025-02-04.
2 Contract management Wikipedia Retrieved 2025-02-04.
3 What is Contract Management? National Contract Management Association Blog Retrieved 2025-02-04.
3 Contract Management Principles Crown Commercial Service (PDF) Retrieved 2025-02-04.
4 A complete guide to supplier relationship management Indeed Career Development Blog Retrieved 2025-02-04.
5 What is contract management? Benefits and best practices Indeed Career Development Blog Retrieved 2025-02-04.
6 The ultimate guide to contract management Summize Contract Guides Retrieved 2025-02-04.