The Importance of Contract Management, GDPR and Brexit

As you've been browsing the web or reading through your emails lately, you won't have been able to miss talk of ‘GDPR'. But what exactly is this, and how does it affect you and your business?

GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation, and it comes into force at the end of this month. It means that businesses have to be extra vigilant when it comes to storing their customers' data, and what they do with it. All contracts will need to be brought up to date to ensure that everyone involved understands what can and can't be done with that data.

Brexit is another reason to search through old contracts and ensure they are up to date. Jurisdiction clauses will need to be reviewed, for example, and if there is any reference to the EU it is going to need to be removed ready for when Brexit finally happens.

All of this is completely essential. It's also time consuming and, let's be honest, not the most interesting job in the world. There is always something ‘better' to do, something that takes your attention away from the GDPR and Brexit contract changes, and before you know it you'll be trying to work through dozens, perhaps hundreds, maybe even more, contracts and changing them all, one by one.

What Can Be Done?

If you don't like the idea of sifting through reams of contracts and picking out the relevant parts, why not automate it as much as possible? This is where a contract management system from intelligentcontract can come in useful; it will make this time consuming and dull job much quicker and easier, ensuring you are completely compliant with any and all legislation that comes in.

How Does It Work?

The best way that a contract management system will help you in this regard is by allowing for regular updates and reviews as you go along. Even with large impending changes on the horizon this is a good idea as it ensures that everyone understands the contracts they are signing and that there are no glaring errors. You can set up automatic reminders that will give you ample time to check through everything periodically.

Not only does this mean that your contracts are always going to be as up to date as possible, but it also means that there won't be a huge rush when it comes time to implement new strategies.

How To Do It

There are a few steps to follow in order to use your contract management system at its most productive. The first thing you will need to do is to identify which suppliers and customers will be affected by the GDPR changes (or Brexit changes), and which ones will affect you. Without a contract management system this job could be almost impossible, especially for larger businesses, although even SMEs could have trouble here.

With a contract management system, you will have a much more systematic way of capturing key information to find out whose contracts may require adapting.

Next you should look at whether there are any gaps in the existing contracts you have and fill them so that you and your suppliers and customers know what to expect when it comes to GDPR and any removal of the EU from contracts. Once you've done this you will need to send out the changed contract to each client for them to see and sign.

This is another reason to use intelligentcontract. You will have the ability to review your existing contracts, spot where there are any non-compliant gaps, and send out contractual changes in far less time than it would take you without the contract management system set up to hand.

The contract management software also gives you the opportunity to manage the information you have and to set up automated triggers. With these tools in place you can be confident that nothing has been missed.

Finally, you need to ensure you are completely compliant by 25th May 2018. Well, with your contract management system in place and by ensuring that all the information has been amended as it needed to be, that should be it – you are now compliant.

However, as with anything, there are sure to be additional changes. They may not come in immediately, but you'll notice over the months and even years after GDPR comes in there will be a variety of amendments and changes. Keeping up to date with all of this can be difficult, unless you input everything into the contract management system that has helped you so much in the past. You can set triggers and alerts to keep you in line and on top of all GDPR guidelines.

Alongside this, our KPI Management tools let you track supplier performance, singling out any nonconformities through alerts and scorecard technology; providing a holistic view of your supply base and giving you the much-needed assurance that all of your suppliers are GDPR compliant over the term of your engagement.

It's as simple as that!

intelligentcontract is a highly customisable solution that provides a hub to store all your important contract paperwork, plus you get loads of useful tools that make your contract management process a breeze. We don't have a limit to either the size of documents of the total amount of storage, so you don't have to worry about extra bills if your central store of documents gets big.

Pricing starts at £9 per user, per month. For more information, to get a free trial or to organise a demo visit www.intelligentcontract.com or give us a call on +44 (0)333 344 3905.