Integration of Contract Lifecycle Management and Electronic Signatures

As the electronic signature solutions become more popular, there are questions regarding their integrity as stand-alone applications.  If the e-signature process is not integrated with the contract management process, what is the guarantee that someone has not intercepted an email and simply e-signed the document without the knowledge of the real signatory?

Integrate Electronic Signatures into CLM

In a well-integrated process, the integrity concerns are significantly diminished. As Axxerion has demonstrated with its integration with DocuSign, the contract management workflow guarantees that the approval process has been in place and documented before a document becomes available for e-signature.

For example, as a services contract is being put in place with a vendor, the system workflow forwards the contract through a step-by-step process so that the terms and financials are reviewed, negotiated and approved by both sides. All steps, dates, approvals are stored in the system with the contract and are available to be reviewed and examined at any time as a part of the Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) process . When the approvals are in place, the system then launches the DocuSign for electronic signing of the contract. The launching of DocuSign is done by the workflow so that the date of action is stored. The workflow then electronically and automatically handshakes with DocuSign until the signatory signs off on the contract. At that time, the e-signed document is brought back to the document management system automatically and the stakeholders are notified.  The workflow then continues to any necessary additional steps until the contract is active.

The integration of Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) with the e-signature process, creates efficiencies and time savings while it ensures the integrity of the process by maintaining the complete record of all steps and approvals with the contract.

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About the author

Mehdi Khalvati, Ph.D. is the president of Axxerion Inc. Axxerion’s Contract Lifecycle module addresses creation, management, notification, finances and approvals for contracts.  For more information, please review the contract lifecycle management page.Please send your feedback, thoughts and comments to mehdi@axxerionusa.com.