The Importance of a Contract Database

To many procurement professionals, a contract database is somewhat of a bible. It contains a myriad of information that can be analysed and reported on, making it a powerful procurement resource. However, it is becoming increasingly common outside of larger of the blue chips to find that organisations either track their contracts through an Excel spreadsheet or do not track them at all. 

This presents management difficulties and causes huge issues when reporting on procurement performance or even when trying to review a contract. As such, presented below are the top 5 key benefits of using a contract database.

Single version of the truth

Whilst this phrase may seem cliché, in this case it is highly appropriate. A single contract database means everything is tracked in a central place that is accessible to contract managers and the procurement team alike. A single, central repository will provide version control, will track amendments and variations to documents, and will issue contract numbers. As a result, contracts and their data are easily followed, and changes can only be made through a tightly controlled process which is tracked and managed by procurement. 

Contract Accuracy

Given that the data entered into a database is controlled by a single source - the procurement team - the creation of new records or changes made to existing records can be verified against information provided by the supplier. An improved degree of accuracy in the data provides greater confidence when using it for reporting or forecasting. 

Workload planning

Arguably the most beneficial element of using a contract database, is that the data can be used to provide an accurate look ahead to work coming up. Work can be planned around available resources, and the internal customer can be kept informed of upcoming work; allowing them to manage their time and put in place strategies to carry out tasks. This is critical to managing a procurement team’s workload and the expectations of customers. 

Reporting

Data is usually available for download from contract databases meaning it is possible to create pivot tables and charts to present data to a team and to stakeholders. Tracking trends of workload peaks and troughs, types of project and capacity per person is instrumental in managing a procurement function successfully. 

Time saving

The last of the key benefits achieved through the use of a contract database is simple. They save time. Once set up and data is migrated in, whether it’s answering a query or developing a dashboard to present to senior stakeholders, every action is quicker and easier than in a manual approach. 

Please reach out to one of the 7SS team for more information on how we can support with contract database solutions.