Realyst partners with Metrofile to offer contract management solution

Contract management specialist Realyst has entered into a strategic alliance with Metrofile, whereby Metrofile will resell Realyst`s software application, Enterprise Contract Manager. In turn, Realyst will make use of Metrofile`s complementary services.

Paul Mullon, marketing director of Metrofile, says this is a strategic business alliance, with Realyst`s focus on contract management and Metrofile`s speciality being the management of records. The agreement provides an opportunity for growth through cross-selling, as it allows Metrofile to offer its clients the capturing of information contained in contracts, as well as their storage, either electronically or on paper.

"Realyst provides the contract management software and we provide the expertise in indexing, storage and retrieval of such documents," says Mullon.

Tony Maddison, director at Realyst, says: "Contracts are the foundation of business and are at the heart of most business processes. More than 80% of today`s business transactions and relationships are governed by contracts. The number of contracts in business is increasing in both quantity and complexity. Outsourcing agreements are largely responsible for this, as is mass customisation, where customers demand their own personalised terms and conditions."

Maddison says most of these contracts are still paper-based and will be for a number of years. "This makes it inherently difficult to share and manage these contracts because of sheer volumes. Current manual contract management processes are time-consuming, labour-intensive and error-prone. Improved contract management reduces operating and processing costs, and increases revenues by providing proactive contract administration, improved vendor and customer relationships, and enhanced compliance with financial standards. These benefits extend to companies in all industries, as contract management is a horizontal reality in today`s economy. The return on investment for an enterprise contract management solution is compelling, with enterprises saving up to 40 basis points of revenue in hard and soft costs."

In addition, all companies are required by legislation and customer service requirements to secure the availability of the documents for the duration of their lifecycle. Metrofile services and solutions in the preservation of paper and electronic repositories through to final destruction ensure that customers satisfy legislative and corporate governance requirements.

Contract Manager takes care of all contracts involved in the running of a business. It has a central repository from which it manages the financial aspects involved over the period of the contracts, and looks after all the liabilities they contain. It monitors key events such as renewals, escalations, terminations and service level agreements, using e-mail as a notification engine. Contract Manager scans the image of the contract into the system and makes it available across the organisation. Features include full security and the tracking and management of assets under contract. Realyst Contract Manager improves the management of supplier, partner and customer agreements and reduces administration costs by up to 50%. Significant procurement benefits are also realisable with savings of up to 10% of procurement costs through the consolidation of supplier contracts and the enforcement of contractual obligations.