Read this article about IBM, Finalist in the Best Achievement in Process Automation (RPA, Intelligent Automation, Digital Process Automation, Machine Learning, Cognitive Learning, Blockchain etc), selected by the independent judging panel, for the 2021 Digital Transformation & Operational Excellence Industry Awards program.
IBM - Infusing AI in Enterprise Contract Lifecycle Management (ECLM)
The goal of this initiative is to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into ECLM processes providing a seamless user experience to drive productivity & speed. The aim is to accelerate and scale cognitive initiatives and practices across IBM and its clients, re-imagining IBM business platforms, intelligent workflows, and employee experience – treating IBM as "client zero" and showcasing it as the gold standard for Cognitive Enterprises.
Enterprise Contract Lifecycle Management (ECLM) is a key component of Lead to Cash organization for managing contracts. It includes:
- Template Administration - Streamlined development, localization and maintenance of standard contract templates
- Contract Lifecycle Management Enablement
- Draft Content - Quickly assemble contracts from a controlled set of pre-defined templates
- Execution - Optimize the contract lifecycle from creation to signature, with backend integrations
- Enterprise Contract Repository (ECR) - A single location to store, manage, and gain insights on signed contracts performance
This AI solution is aligned with the corporation's strategic priority of accelerating its path towards the Cognitive Enterprise.
- Prepare templates phase is addressed by a component that suggests which clauses to use in a contract based on recommendations powered by AI model.
- Contract preparation and execution benefits from the analyzer component that leverages natural language processing (NLP) and analytics capabilities to analyze unstructured contract language to identify and mitigate risks prior to contract signing. It also makes the identified risks readily available to the opportunity owners and the delivery teams once the contracts are signed.
- Enterprise Contracts Repository is enabled with the Contract AI, which is a cognitive layer providing AI powered search capability within and across universe of signed contracts in IBM.
IBM’s AI in ECLM is designed to offer a fully cognitive-enabled sales experience through the use of embedded AI, natural language processing, and advanced analytics within the end-to-end contract lifecycle management to drive productivity and speed. This initiative introduced AI driven automation and delivered yearly productivity savings equal to $9M USD, largely due to reduced cycle time, improved quality and speed.
IBM is transforming contracting processes and technology to delight its customers with best-in-class user experience by reducing complexity and risk and increasing transparency in the contract lifecycle. AI in ECLM helps IBM reduce cycle time in contracts processes, improve the quality of contracts being signed, resulting in higher client satisfaction.