Emerald, a leader in live event advertising and conference hosting, faced significant challenges in procurement and contract management. The company’s rapid growth through acquisitions had resulted in fragmented processes, siloed documentation, and inconsistent workflows across hundreds of subsidiaries and departments. Contracts were scattered across platforms such as SharePoint, Adobe Sign, and Docusign, creating inefficiencies and making it difficult to retrieve agreements, manage renewals, and negotiate with vendors.

Emerald needed a platform that would provide immediate access to agreements, streamline procurement, and accommodate the needs of 900+ employees globally with varying technical skills. The decision to implement Levelpath was driven by this need for a centralized, easy-to-use solution that could be adopted quickly by a diverse workforce.

Key Benefits:

• 50% faster procurement cycle times by replacing fragmented tools with one centralized workflow
• $60,000 in immediate savings on a contract renewal by surfacing historical supplier data and renewal visibility
• 40+ hours saved on each hiring workflow request by streamlining approvals
• Faster legal review with Ironclad integration by eliminating manual re-entry across platforms
• Easier compliance preparation with centralized documentation, AI summaries, and improved visibility 

The Challenge

Emerald’s procurement operations were hindered by disconnected tools, manual processes, and inconsistent workflows. Teams relied on a variety of platforms such as SharePoint, Adobe Sign, and Docusign, each serving a different purpose. Without a central location to manage contracts or track progress, stakeholders had to know exactly where to go for each specific submission. This fragmented approach made collaboration difficult and time consuming.

Procurement intake presented its own set of challenges. All data had to be entered manually, and the poor user experience discouraged adoption. A complex, multi-level approval matrix added to the confusion, requiring employees to determine the correct approvers based on spend thresholds and category types. Without clear guidance or automation, requests were often delayed or routed incorrectly.

When Emerald committed to centralizing procurement, it first faced the difficult task of locating all existing contracts. Documents were scattered across multiple platforms and saved locally on individual computers, with limited visibility and no consistent method for managing renewals or vendor relationships. Gathering the necessary documentation from cross-functional teams required significant manual effort, and even once collected, files often needed renaming and standardization before they could be stored in a central repository.

Compounding these issues, Emerald’s contract review process required duplicate effort. Employees had to start one workflow in Levelpath for approvals and tracking, and then create a second, nearly identical workflow in Ironclad for legal review. This manual duplication slowed down contract cycles, introduced risk of error, and frustrated teams who were forced to re-enter information across platforms.

These challenges highlighted the need for a modern, intelligent solution that could automate approvals, streamline workflows, and serve as a single source of truth.

Taking Action with a Unified, AI-Native Solution

Within weeks, Emerald centralized hundreds of contracts, assigning departmental responsibilities for uploads and leveraging Levelpath’s intuitive interface to ensure broad adoption. The platform’s flexibility allowed for rapid configuration, enabling Emerald to tailor workflows for procurement, HR, and finance. This adaptability proved essential for a company managing more than 300 large-scale events annually, each with unique requirements and tight timelines.

“Having all our procurement and supplier data consolidated on a single platform has been incredibly beneficial and timesaving for us. Emerald's data is no longer fragmented across multiple systems, which has streamlined our entire operation,” said an IT Operations Analyst at Emerald.

The AI-native features in Levelpath stood out for the Emerald team. Automated data extraction and executive summaries saved significant time during contract reviews, while clause highlighting and compliance tools ensured that critical terms and renewal periods were never overlooked. These capabilities not only improved efficiency but also supported SOX audit preparation by making documentation and summaries readily available.

“Levelpath has made SOX audit preparation much simpler, including making themselves SOC1 compliant and pushing out their updated Risk Module,” said the IT Operations Analyst.  “Everything is now centralized, which streamlines compliance and gives us confidence that our documentation is complete and accessible.”

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Levelpath delivered an immediate impact. Emerald quickly moved from fragmented systems to a single, cohesive platform. Teams adapted with ease, configuring workflows to meet departmental needs without disruption. The rapid shift brought clarity, improved coordination, and set a strong foundation for long-term process improvements across the business.

“The way Levelpath leverages historical data through their AI Native platform is truly remarkable, I can't speak highly enough about it. This access to prior supplier history has been invaluable for Emerald, enabling us to negotiate better rates and secure customized plans that perfectly align with our needs.”

Transforming Contract Review with the Ironclad Integration

A key milestone was the successful integration of Levelpath with Ironclad. Before this connection, Emerald employees had to duplicate their efforts by starting two separate workflows. One was created in Levelpath for approvals and tracking, and the other was created in Ironclad for legal review. Employees then had to manually re-enter identical information across both platforms. Contract cycle times were often stretched over months-long periods, leaving teams waiting for approvals and creating bottlenecks that affected critical business operations.

The new integration eliminates these barriers by allowing intake details in Levelpath to automatically populate Ironclad’s legal request form. Redundant data entry has been removed, and legal review times are shortened dramatically. Contracts that previously would have required weeks of effort can now be finalized in about a week. The ability to move seamlessly between the two platforms gives procurement and legal teams a more reliable process and a stronger foundation for collaboration.

“Now with the Levelpath and Ironclad integration, it will kick over all of the intake questions to the general legal request form. It avoids having to open a new tab, start from scratch, and manually re-enter information.”

The integration also brings improvements in handling redlined documents. Final copies are now stored in Levelpath with direct links back to their Ironclad workspace, ensuring clarity and traceability. The Levelpath and DocuSign integration was refined as well, moving from a shared company account to individual logins. This change gives users more control, enables accurate status tracking in both Levelpath and DocuSign, and ensures that all executed contracts are stored securely across systems.

Efficiency That Connects Teams and Delivers Value

Levelpath’s impact at Emerald extended well beyond procurement. The platform was quickly adopted by the human resources and people operations teams to manage job requisitions and onboarding workflows. This transition brought immediate benefits, dramatically reducing hiring cycle times and creating a more structured, efficient process for bringing new employees on board. 

In HR, the platform powers hiring and independent contractor workflows that previously took up to two weeks for processing and approval. These independent contractor hires now average just 8 to 24 hours, saving more than 40 hours per request. The improvement is especially critical for a business where half the workforce is on the road at any given time, supporting global events and requiring rapid vendor and contractor onboarding.

The platform’s flexibility and native mobile applications allow leaders and stakeholders to manage approvals and oversee tasks from anywhere. Procurement cycles are now “incredibly quick and sophisticated,” with minimal user issues and seamless handoffs between team members. Built-in communication logs ensure anyone can step into a process without losing context.

“Levelpath's centralized communication log allows us to access detailed notes from team members across the business involved in purchases and renewals. This seamless continuity means any procurement professional can efficiently pick up where others left off, whether someone's on vacation, unavailable, or we simply need additional renewal information. It's transformed how our procurement team collaborates.”

The cost savings were significant. By tracking contract timelines and surfacing historical supplier data, Emerald strengthened its negotiation strategy and avoided costly renewals. “Emerald achieved $60,000 in immediate savings on a single contract renewal, an early and impactful return on investment,” said the IT Operations Analyst. “This success was made possible by Levelpath’s robust capabilities in tracking contract terms and renewal periods, as well as leveraging historical data to strengthen negotiation outcomes.”

A Trusted Partner for the Path Ahead

Emerald’s experience with Levelpath has also been defined by strong partnership and support. The Levelpath customer success team has been highly engaged, engaging directly with Emerald’s IT and procurement specialists to solve challenges and co-develop process guides that make the platform accessible to users of all technical backgrounds. This collaborative approach has fostered a sense of partnership, with Levelpath acting as an extension of the Emerald team.

Emerald’s scope is also expanding globally. In 2025, the company acquired two UK-based businesses, This is Beyond and Intech Insights, adding a London office, a Cape Town team, and event operations across Asia. This international growth brings new procurement complexities that Levelpath is well-positioned to support.

A major upcoming initiative is the planned integration between Levelpath and Concur, which will replace Emerald’s custom, internal “E-Forms” system for invoicing and vendor onboarding. This connection will allow suppliers to submit banking and tax information directly into Levelpath, which will then be approved by Accounts Payable in Concur. The change will streamline vendor onboarding, reduce administrative burden, and lower compliance risk.

Looking ahead, Emerald plans to further refine its use of Levelpath by implementing more granular ownership of agreements and expanding workflow automation across additional departments. The company continues to see Levelpath as a flexible, evolving platform that grows alongside its needs, enabling ongoing operational improvements and positioning Emerald for future success.

Emerald’s journey with Levelpath illustrates the transformative power of centralized procurement, AI-driven insights, and a true partnership approach. The company has achieved greater clarity, efficiency, and control over its procurement processes, unlocking value across the business and setting a new standard for operational excellence.