Contracts today form the backbone of all business transactions and relationships. Even if poorly documented, contracts dictate the terms on which most business will be performed.

Contract Management is a term used to describe the processes we use and activities that we undertake in order to ensure that contracts are delivered the way they were intended. If businesses find themselves non-compliant with contracted commitments then the consequences can be catastrophic. Contract Management is about practical prevention of contract management problems, reducing the need to rely on the legal protection built into agreements.

Typically contracts require managing. If they are not managed correctly, then contracts tend not to go according to plan, i.e. they take longer than anticipated, or they cost more than agreed, they are delivered incorrectly, or they end in litigation and/or early termination with various, usually negative consequences for all parties involved.

Poorly constructed or overly generic agreements that ineffectively specify buyer requirements and service levels leave an interpretive door open that requires close management through the delivery phase. Suppliers unable to accurately price these kinds of agreements, usually in the best of faith, find themselves claiming variations when a buyer’s true requirements are unearthed during execution. Principals and superintendents must be realistic and fair in their determination and award of variations in the best interest of all parties.

Good contract management requires people to work together in order to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. Nobody sets out with the goal to fail, or to not deliver, and like a garden, a little bit of nurturing will go a long way toward achieving positive outcomes.

Contract Management Software is software that is used in supporting contract managers and contract management in general, and may be end-to-end or just support one piece of the contract lifecycle; tender management for example.

These days real contract management software supports the whole contract lifecycle end-to-end, from sourcing, through tender management, negotiation & award, governance & compliance, to review, renewal, automation of contract management  processes, and facilitating real time contract intelligence.

Open Windows has been providing innovative contract management software solutions for over 15 years (since 1994).