What I Learnt from Implementing a CLM Solution - Pay.com

Articles
After implementing Summize, Katherine Kennedy, General Counsel at Pay.com shares her experience, thoughts and advice on what she learned from the process.

1. Why did you want to adopt a CLM solution?

Pay.com primarily wanted to adopt a CLM solution to help keep our contracts organised and stored in one place. We have so many contract requests daily that managing and tracking them can become overwhelming. And any mistakes or missed information can increase business risk.

We also wanted a solution that would create a streamlined process to direct and condense the high level of requests that we get from other teams. It can be challenging to encourage the use of new tech, so ideally, we wanted a tool that could plug into our previously existing tech stack.

Our overall aim was to increase the efficiency of our legal team but also provide a way for all departments to self-serve on simple legal requests.

2. What made you want to work with Summize?

We chose Summize due to its capability to integrate with software the business already uses, such as Microsoft Word and Slack. It really helps with the usability and rollout of the tool, as well as the adoption from non-legal team members. And it doesn’t feel like you’re starting from scratch.

Knowing that I would be able to roll out Summize to the rest of the business gave me that added reassurance that it would work for us. If the other departments can use it to make their lives easier, then it makes it a lot more likely that they will adopt it. Which then benefits us!  

3. How did Summize compare to the other CLM vendors on the market?

Compared to the other CLM vendors, something that stood out to us when looking at Summize was that the team constantly championed innovation within the product and looked for ways to add to the customer experience. Summize is obviously unique because of its integration capabilities, but how involved the team is with us helped set them apart.

I was also impressed with the number of features in the product and the roadmap for what was coming next. The team are also incredibly open to customer feedback about what our organisation needs and what we think should come next.  

It just feels like a really exciting time to be involved with Summize.

4. What were your expectations around implementing Summize prior to beginning your journey?

My nervousness about implementing a CLM solution was mostly around rolling it out to the wider team. I wanted to make sure that the business adopted it successfully and with as few problems as possible!  

So far, the team has been really receptive to the product, and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Integrating with software we already use has made it much easier for them to adopt Summize into their day-to-day processes.  

The overall implementation of Summize has also been much quicker than I expected. After three weeks of support from the implementation team at Summize, I was onboarded and ready to roll out to our wider team.

5. How have you found your implementation journey with Summize?

The support from the implementation team at Summize has been fantastic. They were able to guide me through the process at my own speed, taking the time to explain the product thoroughly and ensuring I understood everything. They quickly responded to my queries and were always happy to jump on a call to explain things in more detail.

I found setting up Summize alongside my day-to-day role was really beneficial. It meant I could quickly implement Summize processes as I was working, which helped me flag any problems I had to the team.  

6. What advice would you give to other legal professionals looking to implement a CLM solution?

One piece of advice I have for anyone looking to implement a CLM solution is to ensure you have buy-in from the wider business.  

Involving our sales team from the beginning meant they were fully on board with the concept and excited to start using Summize. We have had positive feedback from the team and are already starting to see the benefits!

Download

About the author

The Summize Team

Summize is a Contract Lifecycle Management solution that incorporates contract workflows into the tools you and your business already use every day.
The LinkedIn icon in blueThe Law Society logo
Read more about the author