Metrofile partners with Realyst to offer contract management solution

Issued by FHC for Metrofile
Johannesburg, 11 Feb 2003

Metrofile has entered into partnership with contract management specialist Realyst, whereby Metrofile will resell Realyst`s software application, Contract Manager. In turn, Realyst will make use of Metrofile`s complementary services.

Paul Mullon, marketing director of Metrofile, says this is a strategic business alliance, with Realyst`s focus on contract management and Metrofile`s speciality being the management of records. The agreement provides an opportunity for growth through cross-selling, as it allows Metrofile to offer its clients the capturing of information contained in contracts, as well as their storage, either electronically or on paper. "Realyst provides the contract management software and we provide the expertise in indexing, storage and retrieval of such documents," says Mullon.

Tony Maddison, director at Realyst, says: "Contracts are the foundation of business. Companies can`t transact without a contract in place. The number of contracts in business is increasing in both quantity and complexity. Outsourcing agreements are largely responsible for this, as is mass customisation, where customers demand their own personalised terms and conditions." Maddison says most of these contracts are still paper-based and will be for a number of years. "This makes it inherently difficult to share and manage these contracts because of sheer volumes."

In addition, all companies are required by legislation and customer service requirements to secure the availability of the documents for the duration of their lifecycle. Metrofile services and solutions in the preservation of paper and electronic repositories through to final destruction ensure that customers satisfy legislative and corporate governance requirements.

Contract Manager takes care of all contracts involved in the running of a business. It has a central repository from which it manages the financial aspects involved over the period of the contracts, and looks after all the liabilities they contain. It monitors key events such as renewals, escalations, terminations and service level agreements, using e-mail as a notification engine.

Contract Manager scans the image of the contract into the system and can share it across the organisation. Features include full security, horizontally and vertically. For example, sales people in a Durban branch of a company would only be able to see the sales contracts relating to Durban, whereas a national sales director would have access to all sales-related contracts across the organisation.

Metrofile

Metrofile, a company in the JSE Securities Exchange-listed MGX group, is the South African market leader in the management of business content, and is committed to help customers reduce costs and improve productivity in processes that are centred around documents and corporate records.

All companies have a combination of paper and electronic documents, and are forced by law and customer requirements to secure the availability of the documents for the duration of their lifecycle. For most organisations, the volume of documentation is growing at an exponential rate, and is becoming increasingly difficult to manage.

Metrofile, which also has an international presence, is uniquely positioned to provide consulting and implementation of full lifecycle paper and electronic records management solutions from storage and conversion through to destruction.

Editorial contacts