Organisations with mature agreement systems are 77% more likely to outperform peers, yet only 16% have fully automated contract creation, new findings from Docusign and Deloitte show.
Drawing on insights from over 1,400 business leaders across 14 markets, the 2025 study reveals a strong link between advanced agreement capabilities and business performance, particularly among high-performing organisations.
Among this group, 77% of leaders in high-performing organisations credit agreement management with their success in core business areas.
Also, 85% said agreement management directly supported their strategic objectives, and 72% linked these tools to achieving financial outcomes.
Further, organisations with more advanced capabilities were 19% more likely than peers to outperform on digital productivity, customer experience, and operational efficiency.
The report finds that organisations with more mature agreement capabilities in areas like contract creation, routing and approvals, and enterprise integration are significantly more likely to outperform their peers across key business metrics. This value is often unlocked by reducing internal friction, standardising contracts, streamlining workflows, and generating proactive insights across functions.
As organisations look to improve performance and scale with greater agility, many are turning to AI to modernise agreement workflows. Leaders surveyed in the study expect AI to deliver measurable benefits by optimising agreements and engaging customers more proactively, particularly in areas like compliance, deal velocity, and customer experience.
Organisations with advanced AI-enabled agreement tools are significantly more likely to exceed performance goals. For example, 48% of business leaders believe AI in contract creation is essential.
These tools are delivering measurable value across business functions — for sales, AI reduces deal delays by 29%; for legal teams, it reported an average of 21% fewer agreements out of compliance with legal and business requirements; and for procurement, it saves 21% of time on complex supply agreements.
The study also uncovers a strategic shift in how agreement management is governed within organisations. Over 75% of business leaders surveyed said that a C-level or senior executive now oversees agreement processes across the business, signalling that agreement management has shifted from a functional concern to an executive-level priority.
This shift reflects how agreement management has evolved beyond legal or operational domains to become a cross-functional priority. As AI and automation gain traction, strategic oversight of agreement processes is increasingly seen as essential to driving business outcomes, ensuring compliance, and managing organisational complexity.
Across the Asia-Pacific region, the study highlights a divergence in how markets are evolving their agreement capabilities, with Singapore presenting both strengths and opportunities. While Singapore scores highly for trust and governance in agreement systems—with over 89% of leaders expressing confidence—it trails Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) by more than 25 percentage points in contract creation maturity.
This points to untapped potential for businesses in Singapore to further strengthen early-stage workflows and unlock productivity gains through modernisation. Leaders in ANZ and Japan are also significantly more likely to report advanced capabilities in Insights and Intelligence (21% more than Singapore) and Enterprise Integration (27% more).
These capabilities enable deeper value extraction and stronger coordination across complex operations—areas that could represent meaningful growth levers for Singapore-based organisations.
“The divergence in agreement management maturity across APAC highlights unique opportunities for businesses in each market,” said Kartik Krishnamurthy, Docusign VP in Asia.
“Singapore’s strong foundation in digital governance and trust positions it well to accelerate AI adoption and automation in agreement processes. By doing so, businesses can unlock substantial efficiencies and ensure they remain competitive in a rapidly digitising economy,” said Kartik.
