Designing a scalable CLM workflow for AstraZeneca Italia
Contract lifecycle management projects rarely fail because of one missing feature.
More often, the complexity sits in the process itself: legacy forms, manual checks, approval rules, signature matrices, department specific requirements, exceptions and amendments that need to remain connected to the original agreement.
For AstraZeneca Italia, the objective was to move from paper based and Word based contract intake to an end to end CLM workflow for the Italian affiliate, with a structure that could also support future multi country reuse.
Sweet Legal Tech supported the project as implementation partner, working across workflow design, configuration, UAT and training.
The solution was built on Ironclad, with DocuSign integration for e signature, and translated the existing intake logic into a property driven workflow. This allowed the process to manage different contract types, approval paths and routing rules in a more structured and traceable way.
The workflow covers 7 contract types, from Service Agreements to Sponsorships, and includes a multi parameter signature matrix based on contract value and therapeutic area.
For contracts above €200k, the process routes approval to the Country President. Dedicated branches were also designed for specific requirements such as Patient Safety and Tax, while therapeutic area routing covers areas including Oncology and OB GYN.
A key part of the design was the amendment process. Amendments were engineered to remain linked to the relevant parent contract, reducing fragmentation and supporting better contract visibility over time.
The platform was configured in English to make the workflow reusable beyond Italy, while still reflecting the operational needs of the local affiliate.
The project involved around 250 users across Legal, Medical, Market Access, Taxation, Patient Safety and Finance.
Key elements included:
- 7 contract types covered
- Property driven workflow design
- Signature matrix by amount and therapeutic area
- Escalation above €200k to the Country President
- Patient Safety and Tax branches
- Auto link between parent contracts and amendments
- Pre configured templates, including Cyber Security Light, CSA ABO and DPA
- DocuSign e signature integration
- UAT and training for end users
For Sweet Legal Tech, this case reflects a core principle of CLM implementation: technology creates value when the underlying process is clear, governable and adopted by the people who use it every day.
A successful CLM workflow is not only digital.
It is operationally precise, scalable and built around the way legal and business teams actually work.
