To survive and succeed in today’s changing business landscape, companies need to evaluate their current processes and realise that digitalization is transforming how organizations in every industry carry out their operations.Forbes has reported that 90% of global businesses have kicked off a formal digital transformation initiative of some form. The concern for many companies is that they’ve already fallen behind, or they are too late to get started. But that is certainly not the case.One of these forms of digitalization that you may not have considered is deal management, which might ordinarily have been completed by different teams including finance and procurement. This benefits your business by freeing up more time and ultimately eliminating the risk of human error.This blog will help you identify the 6 reasons you need to digitalize your deal management processes and how companies that adapt will stay competitive and relevant.

What is digitalization?

According to Gartner, “Digitalization is the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities”. By leveraging digital technology, a business can improve or enhance existing business processes. For example, digitalization can convert all your deal management into a digital format. Once converted, a business can upgrade its manual processes to automated processes, eliminating the need for basic spreadsheets. Companies that don’t keep up with these digital processes will get left behind.

How important is digitalization?

Research shows that digitalization of the contracting process is lagging in most companies. According to International Association for Contract & Commercial Management (IACCM), 85% are using manual deal management processes. As a result, estimates suggest that an average organization with one thousand employees spends an unnecessary $2.5 million to $3.5 million every year searching for documents or re-creating lost documents. This only further shines a spotlight on the need for digitalization.Plus, those involved in the deal management process, including finance, believe better technology would make finance processes more effective according to PWC Finance Effectiveness Benchmark Study. Furthermore, 70% of CFOs expect digital developments will change the way their finance organization operates.Research also suggests that by digitizing the most information-intensive processes, businesses can cut costs by up to 90% and significantly speed up turnaround times.

6 reasons to adopt digitalization of deal management sooner rather than later

1. Reduced physical paperwork - Research by the Institute of Supply Management discovered that the average Fortune 1000 company retains anywhere between 20,000 to 40,000 contractual files. With digitalization, it will no longer be necessary to use paper-based materials such as physical written contracts which can be easy to lose, get damaged, and degrade over time.Many of the normal finance and procurement processes are now being replaced by digital platforms that let you edit agreements quickly and use electronic signatures to sign off contracts. Researchers predict that, globally, the e-signature market will continue a double-digit yearly growth rate, with a compound annual growth rate of 34.7% between 2017 and 2023. This is further enforced with today’s social distancing policies and remote working arrangements; organizations who have adopted digitalization early are greatly benefiting from digitalized deal management processes amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. That’s one of the many advantages with Enable’s deal management platform - it can be accessed remotely via the cloud.
2. Remote access via the cloud - Cloud-based software solutions provide companies with incredible flexibility for maximizing digitalization securely with both suppliers and employees. With many workforces working from the office, others working from home, and some even halfway across the world, they all need access to the same information. With our deal management software, your distributed workforce can all access their agreements they need quickly and securely.
3. Increased collaboration in your workforce - A company can get stuck in its ways, especially when it comes to its deal management processes. Many people fear change. The thought of certain departments taking on digitalization can be a daunting prospect for any workforce. So, to maximize the chances of a successful switch to better deal management, there needs to be strong collaboration across all departments including finance, sales and procurement.
4. Workflow improvements - Dealing with all your trading agreements manually can be an unpleasant task, but with the right deal management solution in place, organisations can substantially reduce or eliminate entirely the processes involved in managing, tracking and administering those agreements. Once a rebate agreement has been signed, it is retained in the deal management platform - an environment which ensures it is easily retrievable, secure, backed-up and able to tell the story of any amendments made.
5. Better organization - The organizational powers of digitalization cannot be overstated. Moving to a deal management system with a central deal repository means your trading agreements become easier to navigate. Plus, the software allows editing and version control with notes about who edited what and when, so that you can find the correct version of a trading agreement in seconds. No more sifting through files or opening multiple documents to figure out which is the accurate and most recent version.
6. Compliance - With financial regulations getting more complicated, the digitalization of your deal management provides an effective tool for ensuring compliance. When preparing financial statements for regulatory submission, the team must gather and validate the data in a carefully controlled environment to ensure that reporting is accurate, compliant and can be audited which can be a costly and time-consuming process. That’s why many companies choose our deal management software to avoid finding nasty surprises in their financials. It minimizes compliance errors and enhances transparency whilst saving time.

Are you ready to digitalize your deal management?

Digitalization may be the most effective way to manage the challenges of today’s fast-changing business environment. Those involved in the deal management process can transform and add more value to the business. If adopted wisely, digitalization will provide many benefits including greater efficiency, cost reduction, and convenience. Get in touch to find out how Enable can support your digital transformation.