Leading Aviation Financial Services Company Improves Contracts Management Processes And Reduces Liability Risks

A leading California-based financial services company supporting the aviation industry was faced with mounting costs involved with management of aircraft lease, purchase and sale agreement documents. These documents, which often spanned over a thousand pages for each transaction, were printed out and stored in large three-ring binders which then circulated through different departments during the course of the transaction.

Managing a file room of thousands of binders being accessed on a daily basis by over a hundred employees was a significant challenge. As the company continued to grow and the volume of sales and leasing contracts increased, the process became less efficient. Hundreds of binders accumulated on floors, desks and chairs. When binders went missing, staff would have to send company-wide e-mail messages and even search office-by-office to find the binders. Keeping these documents available at all times was critical, as a single binder could represent a $100 million asset. If a document was lost or destroyed, the company faced unpredictable liability. Adding to the complexity of the situation was the fact that the transaction binders were dynamic and constantly being updated. Although backup copies of binders were stored offsite, there was often a great discrepancy between the offsite copy and the active binder.

To help address their identified need for improvements in the contract management process, the company turned to Continental DataGraphics (CDG). They recognized that CDG offered unique capabilities as a vendor, possessing proven expertise in managing large-scale digitization projects as well as intimate domain knowledge of the aviation industry and its business processes.