Recent research by Docusign and Deloitte highlights a significant economic issue: the ‘Agreement Trap’. This phenomenon, caused by inefficient agreement management, costs businesses nearly SGD$2.4 trillion globally each year. The problem arises from outdated systems and processes that trap business-critical information in static, disconnected files.
In the Asia-Pacific region (Singapore, Australia, Japan), the ‘Agreement Trap’ accounts for 31% of these global losses, translating to SGD$670-817 billion annually. This ranks APAC second in losses after North America (SGD$810B-$1T), followed by EMEA (SGD$660B-$800B) and LATAM (SGD$210B-$260B).
Kartik Krishnamurthy, Vice President, Asia-Pacific at Docusign, spoke to the reasons for this opportunity loss: “Agreements are the cornerstone of every business and outdated management systems and practices are impacting productivity, costing businesses time, money, and opportunity. That’s why we’ve introduced Intelligent Agreement Management to help organisations in APAC modernise agreement processes and grow their businesses more efficiently and quickly.”
Key report findings
Deloitte found poor agreement management practices and systems cost organizations nearly $2 trillion in annual global economic value with value destruction happening unevenly across functions, but with an overwhelmingly negative impact on customer and partner relationships. Here are some key findings:
Economic Impact
Global Losses: Inefficient agreement management processes are set to cause SGD$2.4 trillion in annual economic value losses by 2025.
APAC Specifics: The region could lose SGD$670-817 billion, representing 31% of total global losses.
Deal Closure Risks: 52% of global respondents face delays due to identity and notary verification, indicating that legacy systems are inadequate for the digital economy.
Missed Opportunities: Over 40% of respondents miss growth or cost-saving opportunities due to the inability to extract value from agreement metadata.
Productivity challenges
Companies with disconnected workflows spend 18% more time on agreements, significantly impacting productivity, employee morale, bottom-line results, and long-term business outcomes.
Access and Signatures: 62% of respondents struggle to locate and access previously approved contracts, and 49% experience multiple delays in obtaining the correct signatures in the proper order.
Global Impact: On average, companies waste 190,000 hours annually due to disconnected agreement management workflows, amounting to a total of 55 billion lost hours each year worldwide.
APAC Specifics: APAC organisations, which have a tool adoption rate of 35% compared to North America’s 46%, process agreements 6% slower than the global average.
Manual Delays: 40% of APAC participants report delays from manual, inefficient processes during the development and signing stages of a contract, compared to 32% in other regions. This results in an additional 5 hours per agreement spent compared to the global average.
Underlying pain points
Manual Data Entry: 54% of respondents cite manual data entry into disconnected systems as a significant pain point.
Volume Management: 50% feel overwhelmed by the volume and complexity of agreements.
Collaboration Tools: 40% need more collaboration tools to avoid delays and rework.
Advanced Tools: Only 36% use intelligent contract analytics, and 31% use a centralized, searchable contract repository.
How IAM unlocks businesses from the Agreement Trap
In response to these challenges, Docusign introduces Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM), a new SaaS category leveraging AI to revolutionize agreement management.
“This high-impact transformation is a bold move, reinventing our processes with our merchants. In just 12 months with Docusign, we’ve successfully implemented [Docusign eSignature] and are excited to explore advanced AI capabilities and enhanced security measures over the next two years.” said Quinny Lei, Head of Business IT Solutions, GTS Grab.
Leveraging new advances in AI, Docusign IAM represents a significant evolution in the way businesses manage their agreements. More specifically, Singaporean businesses can reap the following benefits:
Creation: Facilitates collaborative, automated agreement creation integrated with business processes and CRM systems.
Commitment: Accelerates contract review cycles, enhancing productivity and turning agreement data into actionable insights.
Management: Unlocks hidden information within agreements, reducing risks and unlocking value.
Free Docusign Accounts for Singapore Residents
Docusign and GovTech have announced that in a new initiative later this year, all Singapore residents with a Singpass account can access free Docusign accounts. This initiative allows users to send 10 envelopes as well as upload documents and self-sign for free, supporting Singapore’s Smart Nation vision. This collaboration highlights Docusign’s commitment to digital innovation and enhancing connectivity for Singaporean citizens. This builds on their previous collaboration with Singpass, which began in 2021 with ‘Sign with Singpass’.
Translating value loss into dollars and hours
To create and commit to the most advantageous agreements in the future, your team needs visibility into agreements from the past. A key element is the ability to search through those documents to pinpoint specific terms and track performance against commitments. When the agreement nears expiration, your team will be prepared for a renewal decision and possible negotiations.
In this report, Deloitte adds up these agreement inefficiencies and translates the value loss into dollars and hours. The full report with local and global findings is available here.
