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A Dose of AI: A Pharma Giant’s Journey with Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) Using AI and Automation

Company Overview

A leading global pharmaceutical company with a presence in over 85 countries and a workforce exceeding 18,000, this organization is among India’s top 10 pharmaceutical brands. With a deep footprint in generics, biosimilars, and formulations, the company’s operations rely heavily on supplier, distributor, and in-licensing agreements—over 4,500 of them. Managing these high-stakes contracts efficiently was not just a priority, it was a strategic imperative.


The Hidden Cost of Contract Chaos: Business Challenges

The legacy approach to contract lifecycle management was fragmented and inefficient. Key challenges included:

  • Contracts scattered across emails, drives, and SharePoint

  • Delays of 15–20 business days in approvals

  • Over 400 hours/month spent on manual clause validation

  • Zero visibility into approval stages or expiry triggers

  • High legal analyst dependency for clause compliance

  • Absence of a searchable, structured clause library

These inefficiencies impacted compliance, operational agility, and audit readiness—especially in a highly regulated pharmaceutical environment.


Strategic Objectives: Speed, Compliance, and Control

Business Objectives

  • Cut contract turnaround time by 50%

  • Minimize legal dependency via AI clause recognition

  • Introduce visibility across departments for every contract stage

  • Ensure audit-readiness and data-driven compliance

  • Proactively track expiries, renewals, and obligations

  • Build a scalable, intelligent CLM platform aligned with future growth


Why atQor: Trusted Partner in Intelligent Transformation

The client partnered with atQor, a Microsoft Solutions Partner with deep expertise in AI, automation, and Microsoft 365 solutions. atQor’s proven track record in digital legal transformation and their ability to deliver scalable, compliance-focused solutions made them the ideal choice.

With a focus on automation, AI-driven clause recognition, and seamless Microsoft ecosystem integration, atQor was chosen to turn static documents into dynamic, trackable business assets.


Smarter Contracts with AI and Microsoft 365: Solutions

A robust Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) system was implemented using:

  • Azure AI Language Services for clause extraction and tagging

  • Power Automate for end-to-end, rule-based workflows

  • SharePoint Online & OneDrive for secure, version-controlled storage

  • Outlook integration for task triggers and notifications

  • RBAC architecture for role-based access and audit logs

This intelligent CLM system covered:

  1. Contract drafting with pre-approved templates

  2. AI-based clause matching and risk identification

  3. Multi-stage workflow approvals with escalation triggers

  4. Post-signature clause tracking and expiry notifications


Real Impact: From Manual Grind to Measurable Gains – Business Benefits

  • 50% faster contract turnaround

  • 180+ legal hours saved monthly

  • 70% drop in missed renewals

  • Instant access to clauses using a searchable library

  • Audit-readiness and compliance improved significantly

  • Legal shifted focus from manual reviews to strategic advisories

The system empowered over 75 professionals across legal, procurement, and compliance functions to collaborate smarter and move faster.


Reflections from the Customer

“What used to take weeks now takes days and what took hours, now takes minutes. The AI-powered CLM solution delivered by atQor has streamlined our contract lifecycle, reduced manual workload, and significantly improved compliance. Our legal and procurement teams now spend less time chasing approvals and more time adding value to the business. It’s a true digital transformation that’s aligned with our scale and regulatory demands.” — Head of Legal & Compliance, Leading Global Pharmaceutical Company