5 Ways to Take Control of Public Contract Management

Every day, public procurement teams manage millions in contracts, each tied to strict legal requirements, supplier obligations, and renewal deadlines. Yet, many still rely on outdated spreadsheets and manual tracking—leading to missed deadlines, compliance risks, and financial losses.

Effective contract management isn’t just an administrative task; it’s the key to better supplier relationships, cost savings, and regulatory compliance. Without the right tools, tracking terms, renewals, and obligations becomes a constant challenge.

By providing a centralised, automated solution, we help procurement professionals streamline workflows, ensure compliance, and transform contract management from a reactive burden into a proactive strategy.

Read the blog post to discover five key ways Mercell makes contract management easier, smarter, and more efficient.

1. Faster and Consistent Contract Creation with Templates

Contract management can quickly become a time-consuming process, full of inefficiencies and exposed to legal risks, without standardisation. How many hours are wasted creating contracts from scratch? How often do inconsistencies lead to compliance issues? Every manually created contract increases the chance of errors, delays, and wasted resources. 

With Mercell, procurement teams can create contracts quickly, consistently, and with confidence using standardised and legally reviewed templates. No more uncertainty about clauses, requirements, or conditions—every contract follows a standardised, compliant structure, minimising risk and saving valuable time.

For public procurers, this means contracts are always aligned with procurement legislation and internal policies. Managers gain peace of mind knowing their teams follow a uniform, reliable process, while contract controllers get a clear overview of contract quality and content.

2. Structured Management and Secure Storage

Lost contracts, endless email searches, and disorganised storage are not just frustrating, but a real risk. When contracts are hidden in inboxes or stored on individual hard drives, procurement teams waste valuable time searching for important information when they need it the most. Deadlines are missed, agreements get lost, and compliance issues become inevitable challenges.

With Mercell, all contracts are stored in a central, secure, and organised digital repository, ensuring easy access for authorised users. Instead of wasting time searching through clutter, procurement teams can instantly filter and find contracts by keywords, contract numbers, suppliers, or categories.

For buyers and contract controllers, this means faster retrieval, greater transparency, and better decision-making when evaluating suppliers’ past performance or preparing for negotiations.

3. Automated Reminders and Contract Follow-up

Missing a contract renewal is a common problem when handling multiple contracts. A supplier’s performance goes unchecked, increasing the risk of poor service. Critical price adjustments are missed, impacting budgets. What if you never had to worry about missing a contract deadline again? 

With Mercell, users can set up automated reminders linked to specific events, such as:

• Upcoming contract renewals

• Index adjustments and price adjustments

• Monitoring of supplier performance and compliance with contract terms

• Contract evaluation for new procurement

Reminders are automatically delivered to the right stakeholders through email, ensuring that every critical deadline is met. For contract controllers, this enables proactive risk and cost management, while managers can be confident that contract follow-ups are handled systematically and efficiently.

4. Insights and Reporting for Better Decision-Making

Making informed decisions about supplier relationships and procurement requires accurate data. How many contracts are active or canceled? Are suppliers fulfilling their commitments? Is spending within contract limits? Without clear insights, procurement teams risk overlooking cost-saving opportunities and falling out of compliance.

Mercell brings all the key data into one place. With customised reports and real-time insights, managers and contract controllers gain a full overview of contract status, spending patterns, and supplier performance.

The platform makes it possible to easily find information on:

• Number of ongoing and cancelled contracts

• Consumption against the contractual maximum

• Supplier performance and fulfilment of contract terms

• Number of contracts where sustainability and environmental requirements have been set.

These insights provide decision-makers with a better basis for optimising purchases, identifying cost savings and ensuring that contracts meet long-term business objectives.

5. Full Control and Transparency in Contract Management

Without a structured system, tracking who created, reviewed, or approved a contract, along with changes made over time, becomes a challenge. This lack of visibility often leads to miscommunication, compliance risks, and governance issues.

Mercell makes contract management clear and structured. With a clear audit trail of contract creation, reviews, and approvals, procurement teams can ensure full traceability and accountability. Every action is recorded, eliminating uncertainty and making compliance effortless.

Mercell also offers role-based access, ensuring the right people have the right level of control. Managers get full visibility across all contracts, buyers can handle negotiations and supplier communications, and controllers gain access to financial reports and contract follow-ups.

Conclusion: Shifting to Proactive Contract Management

Contract management shouldn't be a constant cycle of inefficiencies. The challenge is no longer whether to improve contract management, but rather—how much is a reactive approach already costing your procurement team? Every missed renewal, misplaced contract, or compliance oversight is a consequence of waiting for issues to arise instead of preventing them.

With Mercell, procurement teams can shift from reactive to proactive contract management. By implementing structured workflows, secure storage, automated alerts, and real-time insights, organisations gain the foresight and control needed to manage contracts strategically. Managers, buyers, and controllers can anticipate challenges, mitigate risks, and drive efficiency—turning contract management into a value-adding function rather than an administrative burden.