netLex VisionEliminating 75% of legal's unnecessary demands
The way we did it before really was inefficient. It was not a smart way to work. Afterwards [with netLex] you really feel the digital transformation and how far it can go. For me [the main difference] is inefficiency versus efficiency and results.”
About Ambev
Brazil's largest brewer and part of AB InBev, Ambev and its brands are part of the daily routine of millions of Brazilians. Sustaining that position requires every area of the company to operate with a high level of efficiency and a focus on results — and legal is no exception.
It was to become ever faster and more strategic that Ambev's legal department turned to netLex. The conversation involved Camila Nicolau, Head of Legal and Corporate Affairs at Zé Delivery, and Lívia Bragança Claudio, attorney at Ambev.
Key points
- A 75% reduction in legal's manual work through automation
- Contract management unified on a single platform
- Business, compliance and finance teams inside the same flow
- More autonomy and more satisfaction among internal clients
Many systems, no single source
The starting point was dispersion. Internal clients used a plurality of systems, and the result was a decentralized process with no reliable data source from which to extract any intelligence.
Requesters could not see the status of their own request, and legal spent time and resources on manual work — exactly the kind of effort that never shows up as a deliverable. Without consolidated data, identifying where the gaps sat in processes and workflows was nearly impossible.
- A plurality of systems used by internal clients, creating decentralization;
- No reliable data source for extraction and intelligence;
- No visibility for internal clients into the status of their requests;
- Enormous loss of time and resources to legal's manual work;
- Difficulty identifying gaps in processes and workflows.
How netLex helped Ambev
The way out was to bring the internal clients into netLex. Instead of legal absorbing the disorganization of the other areas, the flow began to accommodate them — with autonomy for the business teams and more efficiency in the lawyers' work.
- Contract management unified on a single platform;
- Business, compliance and finance teams included in the netLex flow;
- Full customization of workflows according to contract type;
- A 75% reduction in legal's manual work through automation;
- Increased autonomy and satisfaction among internal clients.
Results and impacts
The case's figure is the 75% reduction in legal's manual work. It does not represent fewer contracts: it represents demand that no longer needs a lawyer to be resolved, because the flow already answers it.
The team's reading of before and after is one of kind, not degree — the words in the testimonial are inefficiency versus efficiency and results. With business, compliance and finance in the same flow, and customization by contract type, the internal client gained autonomy and legal recovered time for what is strategic.
Conclusion
The Ambev case describes a move that looks counterintuitive: legal gained relevance by getting out of the way. By automating the demands that never needed legal analysis, capacity was freed for the ones that do — and it is on those that the department builds its influence.
