Customer Success Story
TÜV SÜD: More transparency, efficiency and flexibility with Shareflex Contract
TÜV SÜD has seamlessly integrated the contract management software Shareflex Contract from Portal Systems into its own IT infrastructure.
Creating a global contract overview at TÜV SÜD
TÜV SÜD is a global testing company that aims to protect people from technical risks and hazards in a wide range of areas. TÜV SÜD achieves this, for example, by testing, inspecting and certifying technical and industrial facilities before and during operation. The legal department is involved before a contract is signed with the customer. Among other things, the company has set itself a new goal: “We want to create an efficient, digital overview of contracts at a global level,” says Claudia Hawle, Head of Corporate Legal Operations & Technology at TÜV SÜD.
A necessity: New digital contract management
Claudia Hawle explains the objective: “Each subsidiary has an internal overview of its contracts, and now we want to do the same globally as a group.” The Legal Operations & Technology department was set up in autumn 2021. It is anchored in the Legal & Compliance department and drives the digitalisation of this area. Claudia Hawle, the head of this department, started in autumn 2021 by analysing the weak points in the legal process. She asked lawyers to identify the biggest problems – and what tools they needed to solve them.
TÜV SÜD was founded in 1866 by 22 entrepreneurs in Baden, Germany, and has since become one of the world’s leading providers of technical testing services. The group employs around 28,000 people at more than 1,000 locations in around 50 countries. Its headquarters are in Munich. TÜV SÜD is active in the fields of testing, inspection, certification, consulting and training, covering sectors such as industry, mobility, energy, health and infrastructure. With a focus on safety, quality and sustainability, TÜV SÜD helps companies minimise technical risks and develop innovative solutions.
Room for improvement in contracts and their digital processing
“Half of the respondents told me that we need a contract management system because we could improve the overview of contracts and their digital processing. This could further strengthen our reputation with customers.” From a customer perspective, it also makes sense to create synergies: if a customer already has a contract with a subsidiary in China, why renegotiate all the contract components for a subsidiary in Germany?!
Contract management: better internal access to information
Claudia Hawle explains that this kind of customer benefit in terms of external impact could be particularly beneficial for sales, and points out that another aspect was particularly important from a legal point of view: “At group level, we also wanted Legal & Compliance to have a better understanding of which contracts actually existed and what risks they entailed. We were only able to provide limited information, and this involved a lot of manual data analysis. That’s why we said we needed an efficient and digital contract management tool.”
Wishes: fast implementation and data in the cloud
So what are TÜV SÜD’s requirements for a contract management software solution? “For us, it is important that the tool is integrated into our own IT infrastructure,” says Claudia Hawle, listing a key requirement, “so that our contracts and data are stored with us and not on a server somewhere else.” Rapid implementation was also important. “We wanted to see results quickly and not spend years implementing the tool before we could work with it.” TÜV SÜD’s plan was as follows: “We start at a certain point with an empty database. We didn’t want to go through the company and digitise all sorts of old contracts, but rather start from scratch.”
Whitepaper: Document-centric business processes with Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 as a platform for Enterprise Content Management
This article and the accompanying white paper show what ECM exactly means and provide answers to the following questions: What are the benefits of ECM? When and why is ECM necessary? Is Microsoft 365 the right platform for ECM? Download now for free!
Contract management tool: for multiple stakeholders
Another important requirement is that the tool supports the legal process of reviewing and processing contracts: “Multiple stakeholders should be able to work in the contract management tool,” explains Hawle, describing: “The lawyer should be able to quickly request feedback from his compliance colleague or contact his data protection colleague.” TÜV SÜD wanted to implement the procedural representation of how a lawyer works – he receives a document, looks at it and discusses it with colleagues if necessary. In addition, TÜV SÜD wanted to avoid unnecessary and time-consuming media breaks between the digital and analogue worlds when reviewing a contract. Another goal is to make it easier to compensate for sick leave: “We want someone filling in for a colleague to quickly know where the contracts are, what needs to be done and be able to take over immediately.”
Being able to search contracts according to specific criteria
Claudia Hawle summarises her requirements for the contract management system: “We want an electronic database that can be searched for contracts according to specific criteria, for example ‘contracts with a turnover of more than x euros’. And we want to be technologically open to an archiving solution that can be developed at a later stage.” TÜV SÜD did not want to commit to a specific third-party archiving system at this early stage, but rather wanted to have several interface options to remain flexible as the contract management tool evolved.
Long search: success with Portal Systems and Shareflex
The search for a suitable provider took a long time. The search for a suitable provider took a long time. “At some point, I asked my lawyers: ‘Feel free to talk to other lawyers who work elsewhere about this topic’.” One of them came across Portal Systems and the Shareflex product through a contact. “We had a look at it.” A tip from the legal community ultimately provided the solution to the problem. Claudia Hawle finally mentions a decisive argument for the decision: “I like the fact that the Shareflex application is integrated into our company’s IT infrastructure, that it is a German company with support in Germany and that Portal Systems has been a competent and reliable partner from the very beginning.”
Portal Systems: Shareflex application integrated into TÜV infrastructure
“Half of our lawyers work in Germany,” adds Hawle, “so that’s an important criterion for me.” However, the most important aspect for her is another: “When Portal Systems told us that they could integrate their application into our infrastructure, my biggest concern was resolved.” TÜV SÜD had always been reluctant to store its own (contract) data anywhere other than in its own cloud. So the decision was made and it was time to get started.
Shareflex® Contract
Contract Management with SharePoint and Microsoft 365
With Shareflex Contract, you can organise your digital contract management and keep track of all deadlines.
- ✯ Manage all contracts over the entire life cycle
- ✯ Integrated workflow and permission management
- ✯ Audit-proof archiving
Speed: development steps in the test environment
Different project mindsets made for a somewhat bumpy start. When everyone finally agreed on a common modus operandi, “I found it fascinating how quickly it suddenly came together,” says Claudia Hawle. “You get a mask, think about contracts and structures, and then everything goes to the developers. After a short time you can see the implementation in the test environment, look at it, click around and see if it is what you need.” It was nice that the lawyers were able to quickly get a feel for the usability of the software through the “look and feel,” Hawle is pleased to report. “I have a very positive perception of the hands-on mentality at Portal Systems.”
Coordination: Roll-out of Shareflex Contract at TÜV SÜD
Coordinated appointments with the developers form the basis of the collaboration. “We have regular meetings with the team,” explains Claudia Hawle, “and share our ideas and requirements with them. In response, the developers implement the ideas and requirements, then we have another meeting and look at everything together.” And she thinks it’s going very well. “The development team is very responsive and proactive in the customer’s interest,” Hawle continues. For example, they often ask if a new feature has already been tested.
In the long term: collaboration generates ideas
“We do the roll-out continuously and not in one go,” explains Hawle. “Portal Systems has been at our side for a long time, so we have found a way of working together that is really fast and efficient.” It is nice to go through the process with them in such a structured way. This also gives rise to all kinds of ideas: “We are currently implementing an innovative idea that came out of a brainstorming session with the team. We want to make another of our tools, based on M365 technology, communicate with Shareflex Contract.” To achieve this, the developers from Portal Systems and TÜV SÜD were brought together in a brainstorming session. “Portal Systems has a professional and customer-oriented approach, so we can adapt Shareflex to our needs with additional features.”
Realisation: Shareflex implementation in nine months
The implementation of Shareflex Contract took around nine months for the first pilot company at TÜV SÜD. “From the first idea of the structure to the go-live,” adds Claudia Hawle: “We are a rather complex customer with many special requirements.” And what has changed since the implementation? “The lawyers in the pilot company say that they are able to interact much better with stakeholders,” says Hawle, citing one improvement. “They can provide information from the business functions to internal clients much more efficiently, they can be reached more quickly when in contact with clients, and the work has become much more transparent.”
Saving time: end-to-end digital processes
The transparency gained in real time answers questions such as “What contracts are currently being processed, and what challenges need to be overcome when reviewing them?” Processes are much easier to control and “the lawyers love the fact that they no longer have to deal with media disruption,” says Claudia Hawle. “They receive a reminder and then, with a single click, work only on the Shareflex interface.” That really saves a lot of time. “Jumping between different software and systems is no longer necessary.” In addition, “they have better tracking and can more easily follow the current status. This leads to a better awareness of the contract data – questions like ‘how much liability do I have’ or ‘what jurisdiction am I in’.”
Transparency: the main advantage of Shareflex Contract
When asked about the biggest advantage of Shareflex Contract, Claudia Hawle replies in a fraction of a second:”‘Transparency!”
“Transparency, efficiency, working on one platform and the fact that you have all your data in one tenant – these are the four USPs of Shareflex.”
She estimates that in the final stage of expansion, around 500 people across the company will be using the software. And the training? “During the pilot project, a lawyer took care of that, because she took the project into her own hands,” explains Hawle, “but for the current roll-out, my project manager is doing it in my team.” “This would be difficult for Portal Systems because our Shareflex is so customised that it would probably be difficult for them to train TÜV SÜD users on it.”
TÜV SÜD and Portal Systems: further collaboration planned
TÜV SÜD will continue to work with Portal Systems and Shareflex. “Of course, we will stay with the tool because we already love it – and the possibilities of the various existing APIs,” says Claudia Hawle. She is also enthusiastic about the possibility of connecting other on-board tools and using their data in Shareflex. “I always warmly recommend Portal Systems, especially when someone wants a contract management tool without spending an exorbitant amount of money and is keen to see and use something that works quickly.”
Any questions? I will be happy to answer them personally!
Patrick Carl
Chief Sales Officer
Email: info[at]portalsystems.de
