3 Top Challenges of Managing Enterprise Contracts

Enterprise contract management presents different challenges depending on an organisation’s priorities. Procurement leaders need visibility into supplier agreements and obligations, while legal leaders require consistent reviews and reliable compliance controls. Sales leaders also need to move contracts forward without compromising governance. Understanding these challenges helps businesses identify where better processes and contract lifecycle management (CLM) technology can make a practical difference.

1. Gaining Visibility Into Supplier Contracts and Obligations

Procurement leaders must have a reliable view of supplier agreements, including pricing terms, renewal dates, service levels and contractual commitments. When supplier contracts sit across disconnected systems or individual teams’ records, important information can be difficult to retrieve, leaving procurement professionals with limited visibility into upcoming obligations and commercial risks.

The scale of procurement makes effective supplier contract management a significant business consideration. Public procurement accounts for around 15% of EU GDP, according to the European Commission. Maintaining accessible supplier records and tracking contractual obligations can help procurement teams monitor commitments and support informed purchasing decisions.

A centralised contract repository helps procurement leaders locate supplier agreements and review their key terms. Searchable records, renewal alerts and obligation tracking can make it easier to identify upcoming deadlines and follow up on contractual commitments. Accurate data and clear responsibility for monitoring obligations remain essential to making these tools effective.

For organisations seeking the best tools to manage enterprise contracts end-to-end, Agiloft takes a data-first approach to CLM. It helps manage contract information so teams can access and use it throughout the contract’s life cycle. Connections to other business systems can also make relevant contract data available across broader procurement workflows, depending on the selected and configured integrations.

Agiloft includes its artificial intelligence (AI) features in the standard platform at no additional cost. Where applicable, these capabilities can help procurement teams work more efficiently with contract information. Buyers should assess the specific AI functions available and retain appropriate checks for extracted terms, dates and obligations, particularly when decisions depend on contractual accuracy.

2. Maintaining Consistent Reviews, Approvals and Compliance

For legal leaders, effective contract management involves maintaining control over reviews, approvals and compliance requirements while keeping agreements moving through the contracting process. When legal teams store contract records across email inboxes, shared drives and separate systems, they can struggle to apply consistent procedures and maintain a clear audit trail.

A 2023 study of European legal departments found that fewer than 30% of respondents used contract management software. The finding points to limited adoption of dedicated contract management tools among the surveyed legal teams.

Without structured workflows, legal leaders may face repeated reviews, unclear approval responsibilities and delays when agreements require specialist input. Inconsistent clause language, incomplete records and limited visibility into approval histories can also complicate compliance checks. It is also harder for organisations to demonstrate adherence to internal policies.

Agiloft’s configurable, no-code CLM platform tailors review procedures and approval routes to different contract types and risk levels. Legal leaders can use this flexibility to establish consistent controls while accounting for the specific requirements of different agreements. Data security is another consideration when selecting CLM software, as contract records can contain sensitive commercial and financial information. Agiloft’s access controls help protect those records while enabling authorised users to work with them.

3. Accelerating Sales Contracting Without Losing Governance

Sales leaders need to move customer agreements toward signature without allowing internal procedures to unnecessarily slow negotiations. Repeated legal reviews, manual document preparation and unclear approval thresholds can delay contract execution. These processes also frustrate customers and may delay commercial timelines.

The commercial impact of delayed business transactions can be significant. According to the CFA Institute, over half of EU companies reported difficulties due to late payments from public authorities or private clients in 2024. Clear contractual terms and efficient approval processes can help sales teams manage customer agreements and payment obligations while keeping deals moving.

However, speeding up contracting cannot come at the expense of appropriate oversight. Customer agreements may contain non-standard liability clauses, pricing concessions or commitments that fall outside approved commercial terms. Without clear escalation rules, sales teams may agree to conditions that require further review or exceed their authority.

CLM platforms, such as Agiloft, provide approved clause libraries and configurable approval workflows that can help sales leaders distinguish routine agreements from contracts that need closer scrutiny. Agiloft can route agreements to the appropriate stakeholders for review and approval, with conditional workflows supporting different requirements. These measures help reduce avoidable delays while maintaining oversight of commercial commitments. 

As sales teams need to follow contracting procedures consistently, ease of use is an important factor when choosing CLM software. Agiloft’s configurable platform can support workflows for different agreement types and approval requirements, helping sales leaders align contracting processes with commercial policies.

Building a More Effective Enterprise Contract Management Process

Effective contract management requires organisations to address immediate workflow challenges while preparing for changing business needs. As businesses expand, adopt new systems or introduce different types of agreements, their contracting processes must adapt accordingly. A CLM platform that accommodates evolving requirements can help maintain consistent practices as operations grow and contracting needs evolve.