Procurement's Year in Stories: May 2024

How Docusign and Lexion Will Empower Agreement Management​​​​​​​

In May, it was announced that Docusign agreed to acquire Lexion, which will bolster Docusign's position in the growing Intelligent Agreement Management SaaS category. The acquisition was completed at the end of May.

The agreement to acquire Lexion, a leading provider of AI-powered agreement management software, for US$165m, will bolster Docusign's position in Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM), a growing SaaS category and will add more powerful AI capabilities to the Docusign IAM platform, as a company in e-signature and contract lifecycle management.

Lexion offers AI-based agreement technology that simplifies and centralises the contract process, allowing users to accelerate drafting, negotiations and review agreements. With a suite of solutions designed for creating an automated workflow and extracting vital information from contracts, Lexion has established itself as a proven leader in streamlining agreement management.

Allan Thygesen, CEO at Docusign, said: "We are thrilled to welcome Lexion to Docusign. We share a vision of smarter agreement management, and our joint AI-powered innovation will deliver increased value, productivity and simplicity to our combined customers.

"This strategic acquisition underscores our commitment to providing our customers with Intelligent Agreement Management solutions that will transform agreement data into insights, accelerate contract reviews and boost productivity to ultimately grow revenue faster."

The agreement saw the co-founders of Lexion — CEO Gaurav Oberoi, CTO Emad Elwany and Principal Architect James Baird — join Docusign in senior roles within product and engineering.

Gaurav will be a Vice President of Product Management, Emad will be a Vice President of Engineering and James will be a Principal Engineer.

The co-founders, who met at the Allen Institute for AI, have extensive expertise in AI and contract management. Lexion also brings to Docusign a team of world-class AI engineers with backgrounds at Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft, along with a broader organisation that has a deep understanding of the agreement management space.

Lexion has been well-received for its ability to offer quick and easy implementation, learning and use. The company also has a strong track record of listening to customers' needs and delivering the solutions they need.

How Mars is Mooving to a More Sustainable Dairy Supply Chain 

Mars outlined its commitment to reducing the environmental impact of its dairy sourcing through its "Mooving Dairy Forward" plan.

Mars is cutting emissions across its supply chain, through partnerships with dairy producers and innovative initiatives.

The company also supports regenerative agricultural practices and collaborate with industry partners through initiatives like the Sustainable Dairy Partnership, fostering innovation for a more sustainable future in the dairy industry.

The company relies on more than 200,000 animals to help it make millions of chocolate treats enjoyed around the world. But cows release gases, along with other by-products of day-to-day cow life — manure and food production — that have an impact on the environment. Dairy is the second-largest contributor to the carbon footprint of the snacking business.

This is in line with Mars' 2030 ambition to slash emissions across the entire business by 50%.

Partnering with dairy producers In the dairy supply chain, the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions occur at the farm level. Efforts revolve around collaborating closely with dairy producers to assist farmers in implementing practices or infrastructure changes directly on their farms to mitigate emissions.

Mars is allocating significant financial resources directly to farmers through its supplier contracts to support them in adopting climate-friendly farming practices. US$47m investment over three years - a significant financial backing that is part of the multinational's broader climate cash commitment, totalling US$1bn over the same period.

Through the partnerships it has forged with four major players in the dairy industry: Fonterra, Land O'Lakes, Interfood and FrieslandCampina, all of whom share the vision for a more sustainable future.

Together, all the parties are investing in comprehensive dairy sustainability initiatives targeting key areas with the highest carbon footprint: enteric methane (emitted through cow burps), manure management and feed production.

Mars is a founding member of the Sustainable Dairy Partnership, an industry group for dairy buyers and producers which outlines the process for making progress against the Dairy Sustainability Framework's 11 sustainability criteria.

This aims to build a more sustainable world, something which can only be achieved by the entire industry embracing this collaboration to co-create solutions which transcend.

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