The conversation usually happens in a budget meeting. The CIO says, "Why are we looking at Ironclad or LinkSquares? Our ERP vendor includes a contract module for free (or cheap) in our enterprise license."
From a procurement and IT perspective, this makes perfect sense. One vendor, one invoice, native data integration. But from a legal perspective, it is often a death sentence for efficiency.
Built for Buyers, Not Lawyers
ERP-based CLM modules (like SAP Ariba or Coupa CLM) are fundamentally designed for Procurement. Their DNA is "Spend Management," not "Risk Management."
This manifests in the user interface:
- Rigid Workflows: They excel at "Purchase Order → Invoice" flows but struggle with the non-linear chaos of "Redline → Comment → Re-draft → Negotiate."
- Data-First, Document-Last: They treat contracts as "attachments to a PO record," whereas lawyers treat contracts as living documents that need granular version control.
- No Word Integration: Many suite tools force you to edit in a clunky web editor. Lawyers live in Microsoft Word. If the tool doesn't have a perfect Word plugin, lawyers won't use it.
The Trade-Off: Control vs. Agility
Visualizing the extreme functional gap between ERP Suites and Specialized CLM tools.
The "Sell-Side" Blind Spot
The biggest limitation of ERP-based CLMs is that they are almost exclusively focused on Buy-Side contracts (Vendor Agreements).
But your legal team also manages Sell-Side contracts (Sales Agreements, NDAs with customers). Using a procurement tool to manage sales contracts is like trying to play tennis with a baseball bat. The data fields don't match (Customer vs. Vendor), the workflows are different (Revenue Rec vs. Spend Approval), and the urgency is completely opposite.
If you force Sales to use a Procurement tool to close deals, they will revolt. They will go back to email, and you will lose all visibility.
When to Choose the Suite
Is the "Suite" always wrong? No. It is the right choice if:
- You are a commodity business: Your contracts are 99% standard POs with no negotiation.
- You have no internal legal team: Procurement manages everything.
- Budget is the only driver: You literally cannot afford a separate tool.
The Consultant's Takeaway: Don't let IT convenience dictate legal process. If the tool makes the lawyer's job harder, they won't use it. And a CLM that nobody uses is the most expensive software of all.