In the dynamic field of warehousing, transportation, and logistics, McCollister’s faced a significant challenge within its legal department. Tasked with managing a plethora of legal responsibilities and being the solo member of the legal team, General Counsel Stephen Schukraft sought a solution to streamline operations without needing to hire additional staff. This led to the exploration of technology-driven solutions, especially those leveraging AI, to enhance overall contract review efficiency.

‍

Transforming Legal Operations with AI

The necessity for a more efficient contract review process was clear as Schukraft navigated through the extensive volume of contracts that needed review. Often he was needing to review the same terms and insert the same amendments repeatedly. The goal was to shift the focus away from these repetitive tasks. The solution? Implementing an AI-powered tool, Ivo, designed to optimize the contract review process, offering precision and reliability without the need for additional staff.

‍

Ivo: The AI-Powered Game Changer

For Schukraft, selecting Ivo was a straightforward choice, as he found its sophisticated features and cost-effectiveness to perfectly match his needs. Consequently, he bypassed exploring alternative options and promptly adopted Ivo. He highlighted how Ivo stood out, particularly for its quick and efficient handling of crucial terms in contracts via an easy-to-use Word plugin interface. Moreover, Schukraft emphasized that the smooth implementation was further supported by Ivo’s outstanding customer service and onboarding assistance

The value of Ivo, coupled with its price point, was precisely what we were searching for.

‍

Realizing Tangible Benefits

Adopting Ivo has yielded significant benefits for Schukraft, including:

  • Unlocking Significant Efficiency Gains:  By leveraging the checklist feature to identify and rectify terms, along with the ask feature for timely answers, Schukraft saves about an hour each day, eliminating the need to review entire documents.
  • Supercharging the Review Process: Schukraft notes that Ivo is essentially the first tool he uses when he receives a new contract to get some initial redlines out of the way. He also uses it to amend terms and to find things within contract while reviewing or after the fact.
  • Shifting the Focus from Routine Work to Strategic: Automation of routine tasks enables Schukraft to allocate more time towards strategic focus areas, driving faster speed to value for McCollister’s as a whole.
It's essentially the first tool I use when I receive a new contract to get some initial redlines out of the way. I also use it to amend terms and to find things within contract while reviewing or after the fact.

‍

Future Perspectives

Schukraft views Ivo as an essential tool that, when utilized effectively, can considerably lighten a legal department’s workload. He emphasizes the importance of supervising its outputs initially, akin to managing a junior legal team member, to guarantee quality work. He notes that he has been very pleased with the results that Ivo has delivered, and has even demonstrated the product to members of his network, who have also now started utilizing Ivo themselves.

Ivo is a remarkable tool if used correctly. It’s akin to having a first-year law student or paralegal, where oversight is crucial, but it significantly reduces the workload.