Sony Electronics found automation, transparency and consistency with Conga

Challenge

Sony’s legacy system was paper-based and unwieldy; processes were inefficient and results were inconsistent.

• No consistency existed in contract management or legal language. Subject to individual user.
• Difficult to locate physical documents
• Clauses were not updated by legal team as regulations changed
• Paper-based system was not feasible for reporting
• Approval processes were done manually, resulting in delays in contract completion cycles
• Needed new solution to replace original CLM system and be tied into PO system
• Required accessibility and adaptability for 1700 users company-wide
• Had to be applicable and functional for legal department (attorneys, contract administrators and paralegals), procurement, and IT

Solution

Conga Contracts℠ implemented a full and seamless migration from Sony’s previous CLM system and full integration into the Ariba® PO system.

• Automated delivery of the contract approvals that trigger the release of payments
• Automated and ad-hoc reports to see full scope of contract activities
• Automated workflows and approval processes to speed up contract cycle time
• Speedy and efficient contract creations via configurable wizard
• Ability to oversee, change and control clauses and legal language system-wide
• Full contract visibility

Results

• Legacy contracts and data transferred into Conga Contracts system
• Legal department has full ownership and control of contracts, legal language and clauses
• Contract workflows and approvals obtained in timely manner
• Tied into Ariba PO system, which resulted in elimination of duplicate approvals needed by the same individuals in both systems
• 80% of all contracts fall under standard templates
• Reporting identifies outstanding items, negotiation standstills, and other bottlenecks for proactive resolution