For those of you that missed it last week, International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM) President and CEO Tim Cummins shared a compelling behind the scenes look of his group’s latest investigation into contract management market trends, software investment plans, and best practices.

I was fortunate enough to moderate Tim through two, regional-specific webinars on the IACCM study’s specific findings of contract management trends in North America and in Europe. Going behind the numbers of IACCM’s study – Contract Management Software: Market Sizing and Status Report — Tim revealed some intriguing differences and similarities of contract management process and technology approaches between the two regions.

Specifically, IACCM’s survey of executives from more than 400 enterprises around the globe revealed that North American enterprises are currently ahead of European firms in their standardization processes for contracting and contract administration. North American firms participating in the IACCM study also outpaced their European counterparts in their use of commercial contract lifecycle management (CLM) software.

In fact, North America accounts for more than 65% of total enterprise investments in CLM software, with Europe comprising just over 27% of the overall market.

Tim also shared some industry specific trends. For example, the software and financial services sectors has been the most aggressive users of CLM software to date, with adoption rates in these industries topping 40%. Yet, the electronics manufacturing sector has the most pent up demand for these solutions, with more than 60% of respondents in this industry reporting plans to invest in CLM software within the next 24 months.

Tim says CLM software demand in the electronics sector is driven in part by the growing complexity of OEM and electronic management service (EMS) providers. (Indeed, electronic OEMs like Hewlett-Packard have adopted innovative buy-sell relationships with their EMS partners, requiring sophisticated contracting and contract administration capabilities.)

Other industries with a growing appetite for CLM software include, transportation and logistics, service sectors, and retailers, according to the IACCM study.

Tim was kind enough to also share the best practices he uncovered from the top-performing contract management organizations. I won’t steal the IACCM’s thunder by going into these best practices in detail in this post. (You can hear these details first hand by tuning into free replays of the webinars here.) However, at a high level, the IACCM study revealed that the choice of organizational structure has a dramatic impact on the overall efficiency, performance, and compliance achieved from a contract management improvement initiative. Other characteristics of successful CLM programs include:

• securing a powerful and committed sponsor
• appointing an experienced project manager
• establishing realistic and achievable goals
• intelligently marketing program goals, timelines, and results
• setting realistic expectations from the start

I will share some additional highlights from the IACCM study in the coming week. But to get the full story, download the full report here. Or listen into the exclusive webinars here.