Chelan County PUD Condenses Certain Contract Processes by More Than 50%
Chelan County Public Utility District selected Contracts 365 after evaluating six competitive solutions to modernize contract lifecycle management across its organization. By leveraging Microsoft 365 and a cloud-based SaaS platform, Chelan improved contract transparency, reduced cycle times by more than 50%, and standardized contract creation across departments.
Chelan County PUD Contract Management Results at a Glance
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public Utilities |
| Organization Type | Public Utility District |
| Contract Platform | Contracts 365 |
| Technology Stack | Microsoft 365 & SharePoint |
| Solutions Evaluated | 6 Competitive Systems |
| Cycle Time Improvement | Up to 50%+ Faster |
| Contract Accuracy | ~95% Standardization |
| Workflow Reduction | Multiple approvals streamlined |
| Deployment Type | Cloud-based SaaS CLM |
| Key Outcomes | Transparency, automation, risk reduction |
Key Results
- Reduced contract cycle times by 50%+ for key workflows
- Improved contract accuracy to ~95% standardization
- Eliminated manual signature workflows via eSignature integration
- Streamlined multi-step approval processes (3–5 approvals simplified)
- Increased transparency with real-time contract status tracking
- Reduced IT dependency through cloud-based Microsoft 365 architecture
- Enabled self-service visibility for business requestors
Custtomer Quote: What Chelan Says About Contracts 365
“The Contracts 365 team not only accommodated our specific needs; they were committed to our success from day one. The Contracts 365 solution provides all our stakeholders with the immediate transparency they need; it has freed up the contracts team to focus on processing more requests and priority tasks. In some cases, what used to take us weeks to handle now requires a few days.”
Mark Belton, Purchasing & Contract Administration Supervisor
Chelan County Public Utility District
About Chelan Public Utility District
The Chelan County Public Utility District was formed in 1936 by local voters who wanted affordable power for residents. Over time, it expanded to provide water, wastewater public utility, parks and wildlife, and telecommunications services, and currently operates the nation's second-largest, nonfederal, publicly owned hydroelectric generating system. Its strategic plan and vision include providing "the best value for the most people for the longest time."
Business Challenge
Like many growing organizations, Chelan Public Utility District was using a custom-built solution to support partially manual, unique contract processes. For years, the IT department maintained the system directly and made updates that ultimately left the code base difficult to support.
Other challenges included:
- An increasing number of contract requests from across the organization introduced a growing, error-prone burden on the contracting team.
- The workflow and approval processes were time-consuming and subject to delays. Many requests needed anywhere from three to five separate approvals in addition to multiple signatures.
- The organization needed greater transparency. Managing the complex workflow and updating stakeholders on the status of requests was a significant bandwidth drain on the team.
A replacement was necessary.
Why Chelan Chose Contracts 365 After Evaluating 6 Solutions
Mark Belton, Chelan County PUD’s Purchasing & Contract Administration Supervisor, researched a number of solutions, narrowing to a field of six competitive offerings. Unfortunately, few options specifically met his requirements, nor did they offer the flexibility necessary to support his business processes. A neighboring utility company, Grant PUD, suggested a Microsoft-based contract management software, Contracts 365. With similar contract management requirements unique to public utilities, Grant PUD had significant success with this system. A deep dive assessment confirmed that Contracts 365’s feature set not only matched Chelan’s current needs, but provided the functionality necessary for future requirements as well.
Results: Reducing Contract Cycle Time by 50% and Improving Accuracy to 95%
After using Contracts 365 for a mere few months, Chelan experienced numerous positive results. The software's cloud architecture and integration with Microsoft 365 allowed for ready installation internally with minimal initial and ongoing support from Chelan’s IT Department. It also integrated easily into other products including a popular electronic signature solution – removing the need for manual signatures.
By leveraging templates to create contracts that only use approved language that conforms to specific business rules, Chelan saves time, reduces manual errors, and minimizes risk. The workflow and approval processes are also greatly expedited as Mark and his team can readily act upon requests, identify older or higher priority tasks, and view open items by status, department, and stage.
Contracts 365 also provided much-needed transparency and self-service throughout the organization. Business requestors can now see the status and workflow stage of their requests as well as any requirements for additional information.
Mark estimates that 95% of Chelan’s contracts are now created with greater accuracy and that the contract cycle for certain use cases has been accelerated by at least 50%. With these new efficiencies introduced, the Contracts Team now has the time and bandwidth to focus on higher-priority, higher-value activities.
An Award-Winning Future
In November of 2019, World Contracting and Commerce (World CC), an international organization dedicated to promoting the continuous development of global contracting and commercial standards, awarded Chelan with the Innovation and Excellence Award for Strategy Direction for its implementation of Contracts 365.
With this successful implementation, Mark’s next steps will be to focus on taking advantage of Contracts 365’s advanced metrics and reporting capabilities so that he can readily identify turn ratios and hidden bottlenecks. This innovative solution will continuously help his team to expand their services to support Chelan’s strategic plans.
Key Benefits of Contract Lifecycle Management for Public Utilities
Public utility organizations manage complex contract environments involving engineering services, infrastructure maintenance, energy production, telecommunications, construction, and public service agreements. These contracts often require multiple approvals, strict compliance oversight, and long lifecycle management.
Without centralized contract lifecycle management software, utility districts face challenges such as:
- Slow approval cycles across departments
- Lack of visibility into contract status
- High risk of manual errors and non-standard language
- Difficulty tracking renewals and obligations
- Heavy administrative burden on procurement teams
Contracts 365 enables utility organizations to streamline contract workflows, enforce standardized templates, and improve transparency across departments while leveraging Microsoft 365 infrastructure.
Frequently Asked Questions About Utility Contract Management
Why did Chelan County PUD replace its legacy contract system?
Chelan County PUD needed a modern contract lifecycle management system to replace a custom-built solution that was difficult to maintain, lacked scalability, and created inefficiencies in contract workflows and approvals.
How many solutions did Chelan evaluate before selecting Contracts 365?
Chelan evaluated six competitive contract management solutions before selecting Contracts 365 based on its flexibility, Microsoft 365 integration, and ability to support complex public utility workflows.
How did Contracts 365 improve contract cycle time at Chelan County PUD?
Contracts 365 reduced contract cycle times by at least 50% for certain use cases by streamlining approvals, automating workflows, and eliminating manual bottlenecks.
What role did Microsoft 365 play in the solution?
Microsoft 365 provided the foundation for secure, cloud-based contract storage and integration, allowing Chelan to deploy Contracts 365 with minimal IT overhead and seamless adoption.
How does Contracts 365 improve contract accuracy?
By using standardized templates and approved legal language, Contracts 365 ensures that approximately 95% of contracts are generated with improved accuracy and reduced manual errors.
What types of contracts does Chelan County PUD manage?
Chelan manages contracts related to utilities operations, including infrastructure, engineering, telecommunications, water and wastewater services, and public works agreements.
What were the main benefits achieved by Chelan County PUD?
Chelan achieved improved transparency, faster contract processing, reduced administrative workload, standardized contract language, and improved workflow visibility across departments.
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