Adobe Sign - The Client's Perspective

Introduction

At AFTIA, Adobe Sign is a major part of our business both as a tool we implement for clients and as a tool we use to make our business engagements more efficient.  Getting there came after we saw the massive opportunity that e-signature provided to improve business for both our clients and ourselves.  

The need for eSignature

In 2017 we were involved in a purchase which drove home the need for eSignature (and in particular Adobe Sign).  At the time we were purchasing office furniture and that involved a lease facilitated by the manufacturer.  Over the course of 2 months we had multiple contracts going back and forth requiring ink signatures, FedEx and, most importantly, time.  A process that should have been measured in hours, instead took months and cost hundreds of dollars in courier fees alone.  Perhaps most importantly from a business perspective, our furniture was installed and in use for two months before the manufacturer could actually bill us.  They may be a large multi-national corporation, but I was still astounded that they were hanging onto this antiquated process that had a negative impact on cash-flow.

After our furniture experience we stepped back and reassessed some of our own processes and how we could make them more efficient.  While we were not couriering contracts back and forth, I was confident that there are areas where we could improve.   In the end there were three areas where we adopted Adobe Sign and were able to reap immediate benefits;

Employee Onboarding - As an organization focused on efficient processes, hiring new employees was a great place to start by putting our best foot forward and introducing new hires to the tools we use everyday.  As an added bonus we have eliminated the need to print, scan and store documents with a wet signature.

Legal Agreements - Moving a variety of legal agreements such as non-disclosure and master services agreements into Adobe Sign has had a significant impact on the potential delays that can be introduced to the sales cycle when beginning to work with new clients.  Agreements which used to take 1-2 weeks to process are now normally completed within a day and without losing any momentum as we build new relationships.

Statements of Work (SOWs) - As an organization focused on developing and deploying technology solutions the SOW is our lifeblood and is central to all we do.  By adopting Adobe Sign as part of our own workflow process we have reduced the time required to get sign off on a SOW from over a week to 1 business day, optimizing time to value for our clients and shortening our sales cycles as well.

In short, Adobe Sign has resulted in AFTIA increasing our own efficiency as we work with clients to improve their efficiency.  It has been a win-win for everyone involved.