Manually checking contracts is a time-consuming and labor-intensive task. Especially in the B2B sector, where every clause and every paragraph can be crucial, it is of enormous importance to ensure efficient and error-free processes. In a world where contracts are becoming ever more extensive and complex, manual checking processes are therefore increasingly reaching their limits. Not only are they time-consuming, but they also carry the risk of overlooking important details, which can lead to significant legal and financial consequences.

Our customers repeatedly tell us about the following challenges, among others:

• A lot of time goes by when searching for documents.
• Incorrectly handled or lost documents can cause considerable damage.
• Duplicate filing causes personnel costs and consumes space and material resources.
• Work processes are confusing, nobody knows where a document is currently located.
• Project and company knowledge is hoarded by individuals and not made accessible to others.

Or in figures:

• up to 30% of document accesses are unsuccessful because the documents are incorrectly filed, have disappeared or are being processed.
• 50% or more of the documents have to be copied and filed in several folders so that they can be found with every type of search.
• On average, each document is copied 2-3 times. The volume of documents is growing continuously.
• The actual time taken to process a document until it is finally filed is less than 10%. The document is not available for most of the time it is lying around or in transit.

It goes without saying that companies with a corresponding use of resources will find it difficult to remain competitive with agile, lean and innovative companies in the future and hardly needs any further explanation.

The challenge: efficiency and accuracy in IT contract review

In the field of IT services, especially in complex industries such as the automotive industry, contract analysis requires not only legal expertise, but also in-depth technical knowledge in areas including software development, network technology, database management and more.

Many of the currently available software solutions for contract analysis reach their limits when it comes to the specific requirements and complex technical expertise in the IT sector. A new generation of tools is needed that can not only efficiently process large volumes of contract data, but also understand the intricacies and nuances of technical details.

An innovative approach to solving an old problem

Aware of these challenges, we at brox decided to develop a solution in an ambitious research project that combines the best of both worlds: in-depth domain knowledge about IT contracts and state-of-the-art AI technologies.

At the heart of the project is the development of a knowledge graph that structures specific knowledge about IT contracts in the automotive sector and makes it machine-readable. This alone is a milestone, but the real innovation lies in the combination of this knowledge with a self-hosted, LLM-based AI. This AI will be able to not only analyze contract content, but also identify contradictions, make recommendations for action and even generate contract documents automatically.

During the project, the solution will first be tested internally and then gradually rolled out in a pilot project – probably by spring 2025. This will allow the technology to be optimized under real-life conditions before it is made available to the wider market.

How the tool will change the market

The introduction of this innovative solution promises to fundamentally change the way companies manage their contracts. For companies, this means a drastic reduction in the effort and error-prone nature of contract review. Contracts can be analyzed faster, more accurately and with unprecedented efficiency.

In concrete terms: faster and more precise answers to contractual questions, smoother compliance with service level agreements (SLAs) and the opportunity to use state-of-the-art technologies that optimize their internal processes and strengthen their competitiveness. The time previously spent on tedious, manual processes can now be used for more strategic tasks.

However, the true strength of this solution lies in its ability to combine knowledge and technology in a way that was previously unthinkable. By integrating AI and Knowledge Graphs, companies can not only work more efficiently, but also position themselves as pioneers in their industry – ready to actively shape the future of contract management.

At brox, we want this research project to be not only an answer to the challenges of today’s market, but a visionary step towards a future where contracts are no longer just documents, but dynamic, machine-understandable sources of information that give our customers a real competitive advantage.