How Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) Helps Scale the Contract Process

For many organizations, the costs of siloed agreements are everywhere. Contracts are scattered across systems, approval processes rely on manual handoffs, and business information is trapped in static documents, resulting in limited visibility, delays, and business risk. As organizations grow and their contracting processes become more complex, these challenges only compound. 

At the same time, the rise of AI is raising expectations around speed, efficiency, and business intelligence. Yet AI can deliver meaningful value only when it has access to complete, connected agreement data. According to 2026 research by Deloitte and Docusign, companies using agentic workflows within an end-to-end agreement platform realize nearly 30% higher ROI compared with those using fragmented, point solutions. 

 At the 2026 Docusign Momentum conference, Docusign senior product marketing manager Monica Chan joined Alex Miller, senior legal operations manager at Genesys opens in a new tab, and Anushay Wahab, senior principal at Slalom, to discuss how organizations can unlock new business value by replacing fragmented agreement processes with an intelligent agreement management platform.   

What are the common pain points that lead organizations to consider a contract lifecycle management system?

Many organizations rely on manual contract processes until compliance requirements or data visibility challenges expose the limitations of this approach.

Slalom, a global business technology company, has helped organizations implement over 300 contract lifecycle management (CLM) systems. While assisting with these implementations, Wahab has noticed a common pattern across organizations of all sizes: Many rely on tedious manual agreement processes. “Agreements are the backbone of every business, but they’re still one of the last areas that organizations really think to modernize,” she said. 

Many mature organizations tolerate inefficient contracting processes for years. Email chains, manual approvals, and offline redlining create friction, but not always enough to trigger immediate change. The turning point often comes when compliance requirements or data visibility challenges expose the limitations of their existing processes. At this time, organizations may attempt to manage contracts within their customer relationship management or enterprise resource planning system before realizing that it is insufficient for complex agreement needs. 

What are three areas where organizations see value after implementing a CLM system?

A CLM system makes a scalable agreement framework possible. According to Wahab, organizations quickly see value in three areas after implementing CLM. 

• Self-service workflows. Business users can generate and route common agreements without relying on legal teams for every transaction. Standard documents such as non-disclosure agreements, master service agreements, and statements of work can move through the organization more efficiently.

• Greater visibility into contract performance. Teams can track cycle times, identify bottlenecks, monitor risks, and better understand contractual obligations. 

• Data. Organizations can understand how their contract processes actually function in practice. Rather than relying on assumptions, teams can make informed decisions about future process improvements.

How are teams using AI to quickly surface contract insights at scale?

For Miller and the legal operations team at Genesys, Docusign CLM has become a foundational component of the company’s agreement management strategy, alongside Docusign eSignature. Although CLM has been integral in creating a centralized storage system for Genesys’ contracts, Miller wanted to make the company’s agreement management process more impactful by gaining access to valuable contract data. This ultimately led the team to explore Docusign Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM). 

According to Miller, one of the platform’s most compelling advantages was its ability to build on existing technology like CLM to extend capabilities. Miller also knew it would be easy to implement IAM because of its user-friendly interface and the fact that no coding or heavy configuration was required. “The IAM platform just sits on top of what you’ve already built and really supercharges it,” she said. 

By adding an AI-powered layer on top of existing agreement processes, organizations can extend the value of their CLM investment by extracting, structuring, and connecting contract data, without disrupting established workflows. Genesys, for example, created a more complete view of its legacy agreements and surfaced insights far more quickly and at a scale that wasn’t previously achievable with CLM alone.

How can your contracts help inform business decisions?

Traditionally, contracts have been thought of as static foundational documents for business transactions. Now, according to Wahab, organizations are viewing agreements as strategic assets. With more insight into the content of these agreements, organizations can better understand their risks, obligations, and required next actions, creating efficiencies for teams across the enterprise. 

“Ultimately, agreements touch every part of the business process,” said Wahab. “When you’re modernizing how you manage them, you’re not just modernizing your contract lifecycle processes but how your organization operates as a whole.” 

This mirrors the holistic approach Miller is taking at Genesys. “We want to make sure the business has the data and information it needs to make the best risk decisions, scale, and grow revenue, and we want them to be able to do that in real time,” said Miller. “We really want agreements to stop being a back-office process that nobody knows much about and make it a strategic lever for the business.” 

For enterprises looking to modernize operations, breaking down agreement silos may be one of the most important steps toward building a more intelligent, connected business. 

View the recording from Momentum, including a live demo, to learn more about Docusign IAM. (If you registered for Momentum, you can log in with existing credentials. If not, you will need to create an account to view this content.)

Frequently asked questions

How can a contract lifecycle management (CLM) solution help companies scale the contract process? 

CLM provides a structured framework for creating, routing, negotiating, and managing agreements. This means sales and procurement teams can easily generate agreements through standardized workflows, freeing legal to focus on high-value tasks for faster agreement cycles. 

How can organizations enhance their agreement processes with AI? 

By adding AI capabilities on top of an existing contract lifecycle management solution like Docusign CLM, teams can surface valuable information stored in their contracts without changing established workflows. 

How can companies turn agreements into strategic business assets?

Agreement management solutions like Docusign IAM connect contract data across the business, providing legal teams with greater visibility into obligations, risks, and opportunities. With timely and accurate insights, legal and other business teams can act strategically to minimize risk, grow revenue, and scale.