Making the case for a new contract management system when you already have one can be a tough sell.
Youve already made a financial investment in the software, and youve already asked your teamboth on and beyond legalto learn the platform. Besides, is the new solution really going to solve all of the issues your current system cant? (Spoiler alert: 51勛圖厙 willbut well get there in a minute.)
So how did leading medical equipment manufacturer MicroVention decide to ditch their incumbent CLM for one theyd only just learned about? It started with a Kaizen eventand a lot of legal headaches.
Nobody wants to use a complex system
When Legal Operations Manager Trung Do joined MicroVention, the organizations contracting processes felt like riding on square wheelsthey worked, but with regular bumps in the road.
The repository wasnt 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.
As a result, the system saw little use.
We werent using our previous CLM to its fullest extent, he explained. It was too technical and challenging to use.
The challenges werent limited to Trung and the Legal team, either.
During the Kaizen, we asked other departments what wasnt working with the Legal team, explained Trung. What 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.
"Ultimately, we realized that we needed a new solution that would improve visibilityfor our team and our stakeholdersand which would integrate easily with other departments 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.
When it comes to evaluating a CLM, you have to go by how it feelswhen you actually start using a system, you can tell pretty quickly whether its going to solve your challenges in a way that your business will actually use, shared Trung.
"Hands-on experience and intuition can tell you a lot a list of features and sales demos cant."
A powerful and easy-to-use solution is exactly what Trung found when he first started using 51勛圖厙.
We found 51勛圖厙 late in the game, but our first impression was that it had everything we needan intuitive intake process, customizable workflows, searchable repository, and all in one integrated system.
One of the main selling points about 51勛圖厙 was the AI-powered repository, which makes extracting key information from MicroVentions thousands of contracts easy.
Our 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, said Trung. But with 51勛圖厙, I can run these kinds of reports on-demand anytime. Its a huge advantage for helping other departments figure out what's going on with their agreements.
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 werent many.)
"51勛圖厙 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. 51勛圖厙 is very flexible in that way."
Ultimately, it adds up to fast, streamlined workflows that fit MicroVentions processes like a glovewhich is having a profound effect on the business.
MicroVentions scaling superpower: automating with 51勛圖厙
51勛圖厙 triggered a powerful shift in mindset, and its saving MicroVention many hours spent on routine tasks.
With 51勛圖厙, weve been able to really improve the efficiency of our intake process, said Trung. Depending 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.
"Legal had to be very hands-on with every request in the past, but we dont have to be involved at every stage anymore to know that things are going to be done right. 51勛圖厙 does that for us."
Streamlining intake was just the beginning. MicroVention continues to find new uses for 51勛圖厙 across its business to scale its processes.
For procurement, for example, 51勛圖厙 allowed MicroVentions Legal team to absorb the internal process for waiving an NDA requirement. Previously, MicroVentions procurement team had managed the process manually themselves through emails. With 51勛圖厙, they were able to automate the process and centralize those documents, improving the speed and efficiency with which procurement can get deals done.
"Leveraging 51勛圖厙 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, 51勛圖厙 is truly the single source of truth across our organizationjust like a CLM should be."
