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Pharmaceutical Specialist Engelhard relies on Contract Management Software
The need for digital contract management to provide visibility, transparency, and audit-compliant management of contracts prompted the internationally successful pharmaceutical company Engelhard Pharmaceuticals to implement a modern contract management solution across its organization.
Today, valantic’s SAP-integrated contract management solution has completely replaced paper-based contract records and supports more than 450 employees at the company’s German headquarters with digital records management, automated deadline management, and comprehensive workflows.
Challenge
Contract management that ensures deadline compliance, centralized and audit-compliant data management, and an overview of all contracts and records.
Consulting approach
SAP-integrated contract mangement cuContract.
Benefits for the customer and solution
Overview of all contracts, appointments and deadlines, digital contract management, and comprehensive workflows through SAP-integrated contract management cuContract.
Dr. Markus Schäfermeyer
Director Information Technology at Engelhard Arzneimittel
”The implementation of the solution has significantly accelerated our processes and delivered the transparency we had been looking for.“
About Engelhard Arzneimittel
Engelhard Arzneimittel GmbH & Co. KG,
based in Niederdorfelden just outside Frankfurt am Main, is one of the leading brand manufacturers of OTC (over-the-counter) medicines. Its core expertise includes respiratory therapeutics and products for the self-treatment of skin conditions. Well-established brands such as Prospan® and isla® are highly effective, well tolerated, and suitable for the entire family—from infants to older patients. What began as a pharmacy in 1872 has evolved over more than 140 years into an international company with more than 450 employees in Germany and partners in over 100 countries worldwide.
Manage Contracts Centrally, Digitally, and with Full Transparency
With more than 450 employees, Engelhard Arzneimittel is a leading manufacturer of OTC medicines and the producer of well-known brands such as Prospan® and isla®. As a modern organization, it was essential to continuously adapt internal processes and structures to the demands of digital transformation. “We wanted a centralized, digital solution for managing contracts across the company while enabling departments to manage their contracts independently,” says Michael Brauers, IT Business Partner at Engelhard Arzneimittel.
To meet these requirements, the company first developed a detailed requirements specification for a suitable solution. For Engelhard Arzneimittel, the key requirements included the central administration of contract documents in digital records, enabling all employees to access them at any time according to their authorization, as well as the legally compliant and audit-proof archiving of all documents. Another key objective was full visibility into contract deadlines and obligations, enabling proactive contract management, timely renegotiations, and the avoidance of unnecessary costs due to missed notice periods. In addition, the company required a user-friendly, web-based interface that could be seamlessly integrated into its existing SAP landscape.
Cross-Functional Contract Management
At Engelhard Arzneimittel, contract management has been a cross-functional topic from the very beginning. “With cuContract, a system is now in use that is fully integrated into the existing SAP environment and supports the various SAP modules in the individual departments or interacts with them,” says Brauers.
The contract management system processes contract-relevant data from the respective SAP modules – including master data (e.g. customer or supplier data), authorizations, terms, and retention obligations. All relevant information can be displayed directly within cuContract and synchronized with the corresponding SAP modules.
Given the sensitive nature of contract data, Engelhard Arzneimittel placed strong emphasis on role-based access control and finely tuned authorization concepts. All entries and changes to a process are logged in an audit-compliant manner.
Control over Appointments and Deadlines
To improve operational efficiency and planning reliability, Engelhard required automated deadline and obligation management. According to project stakeholders, this represents one of the key value drivers of the system. Since contracts typically also entail financial obligations, it is all the more important to keep track of all relevant conditions. This includes the agreed services and considerations as well as dates and deadlines that define contractual obligations over time. That is why the contract management system cuContract includes detailed functionality to remind users of due dates and payment obligations. It also allows invoice and payment plans to be stored and matched against invoices. What would have to be laboriously programmed in a document management system comes as standard in the valantic solution.
Today, responsible stakeholders receive timely email notifications when contract or retention periods expire or notice periods are approaching. “The implementation of the solution has noticeably accelerated processes and created the transparency we had hoped for,” summarizes Dr. Markus Schäfermeyer, Director Information Technology.
From Kickoff to Productive Use of the Contract Management
After the initial requirements catalog compiled by Engelhard, experts from valantic and the pharmaceutical manufacturer came together to define the company’s detailed requirements for contract management. This included the development of an authorization concept, the classification of company-specific contract types, and the numbering of contracts across the respective departments. Overall, the implementation from project start to go-live took just under six months—a very fast timeline considering the size and complexity of the project. “We received consistently competent support, and inquiries were always answered quickly. Overall, valantic distinguished itself through a high level of implementation expertise,” recalls Dr. Markus Schäfermeyer.
Simplified Administration
As with any change to established processes, some workflows had to be adjusted during and after the implementation of cuContract. Internal change management at Engelhard helped implement the revised process flows. “Some employees were initially skeptical due to the additional effort required to enter contracts, but we quickly recognized how much the new system streamlines contract administration and monitoring,” says Alexander Schumann, who is responsible for contract management in the legal department at Engelhard Arzneimittel.
While many contracts were previously only available in paper form and it was difficult to keep track of deadlines, users now save a significant amount of time. A consistent folder structure improves transparency and makes it easier to monitor and adhere to appointments and deadlines. This also applies to archiving periods and GDPR requirements; everything can be defined individually for each contract within the system. The legal department currently manages more than 1,000 contracts.
Optimized Processes around Contracts
Driven by the desire for efficient organizational processes, Engelhard relied on modern software. Instead of using paper-based records and decentralized Excel lists, the more than 450 employees at the company’s German headquarters now manage all contracts digitally. “We now have a complete overview of the company’s contractual situation and can meet all deadlines,” says Marc Braun, Head of Legal at Engelhard. Contracts with ongoing payment obligations that were no longer required could be terminated or updated. Cumbersome searches for contracts in extensive paper records, as well as long search and waiting times, are a thing of the past.
Encouraged by the successful implementation and the positive response from employees regarding the new contract management system, Engelhard plans to introduce automated document generation in the future. This would enable contracts, standard correspondence, and designed emails to be generated independently and in a time-saving manner.
