Making the case for a new contract management system when you already have one can be a tough sell.
You鈥檝e already made a financial investment in the software, and you鈥檝e already asked your team鈥攂oth on and beyond legal鈥攖o learn the platform. Besides, is the new solution really going to solve all of the issues your current system can鈥檛? (Spoiler alert: 91制片厂 will鈥攂ut we鈥檒l get there in a minute.)
So how did leading medical equipment manufacturer MicroVention decide to ditch their incumbent CLM for one they鈥檇 only just learned about? It started with a Kaizen event鈥攁nd a lot of legal headaches.
Nobody wants to use a complex system
When Legal Operations Manager Trung Do joined MicroVention, the organization鈥檚 contracting processes felt like riding on square wheels鈥攖hey worked, but with regular bumps in the road.
鈥淭he repository wasn鈥檛 easily searchable, so in addition to storing documents there, we kept active copies of contracts on a separate shared drive. Managing working drafts was difficult too, so version control was a mess.鈥 聽
As a result, the system saw little use.
鈥淲e weren鈥檛 using our previous CLM to its fullest extent,鈥 he explained. 鈥淚t was too technical and challenging to use.鈥
聽The challenges weren鈥檛 limited to Trung and the Legal team, either.
During the Kaizen, 鈥渨e asked other departments what wasn鈥檛 working with the Legal team,鈥 explained Trung. 鈥淲hat we heard from people was that it felt like their legal requests went into a blackhole, and from others who had issues with our clunky intake process.鈥
"Ultimately, we realized that we needed a new solution that would improve visibility鈥攆or our team and our stakeholders鈥攁nd which would integrate easily with other departments鈥 workflows."
Earning trust (and adoption) with ease
The MicroVention team initially considered 20+ CLMs, and Trung himself has reviewed over 40+ throughout his career in legal operations.
鈥淲hen it comes to evaluating a CLM, you have to go by how it feels鈥攚hen you actually start using a system, you can tell pretty quickly whether it鈥檚 going to solve your challenges in a way that your business will actually use,鈥 shared Trung.
"Hands-on experience and intuition can tell you a lot a list of features and sales demos can鈥檛."
A powerful and easy-to-use solution is exactly what Trung found when he first started using 91制片厂.
鈥淲e found 91制片厂 late in the game, but our first impression was that it had everything we need鈥攁n intuitive intake process, customizable workflows, searchable repository, and all in one integrated system.鈥
One of the main selling points about 91制片厂 was the AI-powered repository, which makes extracting key information from MicroVention鈥檚 thousands of contracts easy.
鈥淥ur CEO and GC wanted instant reports on active contracts. With our prior CLM, it would have taken me anywhere from six months to a year to make that possible,鈥 said Trung. 鈥淏ut with 91制片厂, I can run these kinds of reports on-demand anytime. It鈥檚 a huge advantage for helping other departments figure out what's going on with their agreements.鈥
Rather than holding time-consuming formal training sessions with new business users, Trung simply gave other departments access and waited for any questions they had. (There weren鈥檛 many.)
"91制片厂 is simple and intuitive enough that I can let stakeholders learn it on their own time. As they do, they share valuable feedback that I can use to further refine our workflows and processes inside the platform. 91制片厂 is very flexible in that way."
Ultimately, it adds up to fast, streamlined workflows that fit MicroVention鈥檚 processes like a glove鈥攚hich is having a profound effect on the business.
MicroVention鈥檚 scaling superpower: automating with 91制片厂
91制片厂 triggered a powerful shift in mindset, and it鈥檚 saving MicroVention many hours spent on routine tasks.
鈥淲ith 91制片厂, we鈥檝e been able to really improve the efficiency of our intake process,鈥 said Trung. 鈥淒epending on the intake form our stakeholders choose, the correct contract templates are automatically selected and generated with the details they shared and routed for the appropriate review and approvals.鈥
"Legal had to be very hands-on with every request in the past, but we don鈥檛 have to be involved at every stage anymore to know that things are going to be done right. 91制片厂 does that for us."
Streamlining intake was just the beginning. MicroVention continues to find new uses for 91制片厂 across its business to scale its processes.
For procurement, for example, 91制片厂 allowed MicroVention鈥檚 Legal team to absorb the internal process for waiving an NDA requirement. Previously, MicroVention鈥檚 procurement team had managed the process manually themselves through emails. With 91制片厂, they were able to automate the process and centralize those documents, improving the speed and efficiency with which procurement can get deals done.
"Leveraging 91制片厂 to help other departments scale is highlighting the value of our Legal team. And now, with all of our workflows and contracts together in one place, 91制片厂 is truly the single source of truth across our organization鈥攋ust like a CLM should be."