TOS VARNSDORF approached us for the third time to expand their digital processes. After successful implementation of the pilot project “Business Case Agenda” and subsequent extension by “Service Call”, we have now implemented a project focused on “Contractual Documentation”.

Implementation progress

The project implementation ran from October 2023 to June 2024 and its main objective was to digitize the company’s contractual documentation. A key element was to introduce an approval workflow and a one-step workflow for migrating existing contracts into the document management system (DMS).

Similarly to previous projects, we again used ModuleSuite from AnswerModules as it brings more options and user-friendliness to the DMS.

Main project requirements:

  • Implementation of the “Contractual documentation” agenda
  • Creation of contractual documents and metadata definition
  • Synchronization with QAD ERP system
  • Approval workflow for contractual documents
  • One-step workflow for existing contracts migration
  • E-mail notifications and reporting

Structure of documents

Documents are divided into folders according to individual departments within the system:

  • CEO’s Department
  • Human Resources Department
  • Procurement Department
  • Customer Service Department
  • Department of Services, Property and Investments

Each department has the possibility to create new contracts in the “Drafts” folder by uploading a document from a computer or from an e-mail (using the drag&drop function or via the add object function) or by using the templates.

Workflow and notifications

There are two ways to initiate the approval workflow:

  1. By clicking on the “New contractual document” button (widget) in the contracts interface.
  2. By checking (marking) the appropriate document in the “Drafts” folder and starting the workflow.

The system also monitors the expiration of contractual documents and sends email notifications to users to alert them of important deadlines.

Figure 1: Content Server workflow diagram

Conclusion

This project represents another significant step in the digitalization of processes at TOS VARNSDORF a.s. and is the testimony to our long-term cooperation in streamlining the customer’s internal processes. Contractual documentation is one of the more complex document agendas for several reasons:

  1. Contracts contain sensitive and often highly valuable information that often underpins the core of a company’s business. It is therefore essential to handle them with the utmost care and security.
  2. A contract is an unstructured and almost always unique document with many key attributes.
  3. The contract management process tends to involve many different departments and individuals whose views of the contract can vary considerably (e.g. lawyers vs. sales directors vs. managing directors).

The digitization of the contractual agenda is the first step towards the paperless future that many companies dream of. The next natural step could be the direct integration of DMS with certification authorities to ensure qualified signing of contracts. Thanks to modern technology and the applicable legislation, we can now achieve a situation where a paper version of the contract does not have to be created at all. If certain conditions are met, the digital version is fully equivalent to the paper version in terms of legal certainty. Moreover, if the digital contract contains a qualified electronic signature, time stamp or seal, it even gains an advantage. What a lawyer would have troubles to prove in a court case, technology now makes possible at the click of a button.