The Vizient Challenge

Complex CLM Processes Led to High-Risk Contract Issues, Disrupted Workflows, and Extended Contract Execution Times

Vizient, the largest member-driven healthcare performance improvement company in the United States, provides innovative, data-driven solutions to healthcare organizations to enhance operational performance and deliver exceptional patient care.

Operating in a complex and heavily regulated industry, Vizient recognized the critical need for seamless, error-free contract management processes. While Vizient had invested in the technology to power its contract transformation in Icertis CLM, it faced new challenges in end-user training and support to govern its contract processes and tasks. End-users mistakenly uploaded supporting contract documents in the ‘Upload Agreement’ field, which was intended solely for primary contracts.

This error led to:

• Overwritten contract versioning that disrupted CLM workflows.
• Increased contract revision and correction workload to restore document integrity.
• Extended contract execution times.
• Heightened compliance risks that jeopardized operational efficiency and brand reputation.

On average, Vizient encountered five critical contract errors per month, each requiring 10 hours of rework and costing over 600 hours annually to correct. This inefficiency hindered Vizient’s ability to achieve its contract transformation goals and resulted in downstream risks like brand reputation risk and potential customer churn due to poor experience.

The Solution

Guided Experiences and Embedded Support for Frictionless Contract Management Workflows

To address these challenges, Vizient implemented the Whatfix Digital Adoption Platform (DAP) to create a frictionless, user-friendly experience for its Icertis end-users in its legal and procurement functions. As the official digital adoption partner of Icertis, Whatfix had extensive experience implementing within complex Icertis workflows. The solution focused on providing in-app guidance and real-time support to streamline contract workflows and eliminate critical errors.

With Whatfix, Vizient was able to optimize its Icertis workflows with:

• Custom Icertis UX Improvements to Remove Friction Points: Vizient’s Icertis admins implemented a Launcher feature that masked the ‘Upload Document’ button when users were in the ‘Supporting Documents’ tab. This eliminated the risk of accidental overwriting of primary contracts
• Smart Tips and Pop-Ups: Role-based guidance using Smart Tips and Pop-Ups highlighted critical fields like contract dates, reducing errors in data entry and ensuring adherence to processes.
• NDA Process Automation Flow: A prebuilt Flow automated manual steps in the NDA process, enhancing accuracy and saving time.
• Integrated Icertis Workflow Documentation for Just-in-Time Support with Self Help: Whatfix integrated Vizient’s SharePoint repository directly into the Icertis UI, providing end-users with on-demand access to contract-related SOPs and documentation without switching applications.

The Results

From Risk to ROI: Protecting Contracts From Processing Delays and User Errors

By implementing Whatfix, Vizient maximized its Icertis investment, achieved its contract transformation goals, and realized measurable business outcomes:

• Risk Mitigation: Eliminated contract overwriting errors, safeguarding its contracts in correction tasks and compliance-related risks.
• Improved Efficiency: Reduced users errors in its contract workflow by 93%, eliminating the need for additional contract reworking and legal admin review.
• Faster Contract Cycle Time: Accelerated end-to-end contract cycle time by 57%, reducing the average contract execution time from 33.5 days to 14 days.
• Reduced Support Overhead: Thanks to self-help and guided workflows, the volume of L1 “How To” support questions from legal and procurement team members decreased, saving 618 hours in admin work.
• Enhanced User Experience: Empowered end-users to navigate Icertis workflows seamlessly, improving overall adoption and satisfaction, saving over 86 hours in end-user productivity.