How Emerald Eliminated Procurement Friction Across IT, Legal, and Finance

A Live Events Leader Built Through Acquisition

Emerald is a leader in live event advertising and conference hosting, managing more than 300 large-scale events annually across hundreds of subsidiaries and departments. Rapid growth through acquisitions built the business into a global organization with 900+ employees, expanding most recently into the UK with the 2025 acquisitions of This is Beyond and Intech Insights, a new London office, a team in Cape Town, and event operations across Asia. The same growth that powered Emerald's success also created procurement complexity: fragmented processes, siloed documentation, and inconsistent workflows.

Contracts lived across SharePoint, Adobe Sign, and Docusign. Documents were sometimes saved locally on individual computers. Procurement intake required manual data entry through a complex, multi-level approval matrix that staff often navigated incorrectly. The result was a procurement function that worked hard to deliver, but spent too much time on coordination and not enough on value. Emerald needed a platform that would provide immediate access to agreements, streamline procurement, and accommodate 900+ employees with widely varying technical skills. The decision to implement Levelpath was driven by that need for a centralized, easy-to-use solution that could be adopted quickly across a diverse workforce.

Outcomes after centralizing procurement on Levelpath:

• 50% faster procurement cycle times by replacing fragmented tools with one centralized workflow
• $60,000 in immediate savings on a single contract renewal through historical supplier visibility
• 40+ hours saved on each hiring workflow request
• Independent contractor hires now averaging 8 to 24 hours, down from two weeks
• SOX audit preparation simplified through centralized documentation and AI summaries

The Challenge: Fragmentation at Every Layer

Emerald's procurement operations were hindered by disconnected tools, manual processes, and inconsistent workflows. Teams relied on a variety of platforms, each serving a specific purpose, with no central location to manage contracts or track progress. Stakeholders had to know exactly where to go for each specific submission, which made collaboration difficult and time-consuming.

Procurement intake presented its own set of challenges. All data had to be entered manually, and the user experience discouraged adoption. A complex, multi-level approval matrix added confusion, requiring employees to identify 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 documentation from cross-functional teams required significant manual effort, and 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, then create a second, nearly identical workflow in Ironclad for legal review. The manual duplication slowed contract cycles, introduced risk of error, and frustrated teams 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.

Why Emerald Chose Levelpath

Within weeks of going live, Emerald centralized hundreds of contracts. Departmental responsibilities were assigned for uploads, and Levelpath's intuitive interface drove broad adoption across teams. The platform's flexibility enabled rapid configuration, allowing Emerald to tailor workflows for procurement, HR, and finance simultaneously. That adaptability was 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."
_{Zach Margolis, IT Operations Analyst, Emerald}

The AI-native features in Levelpath stood out for the team. Automated data extraction and executive summaries saved significant time during contract reviews. Clause highlighting and compliance tools ensured that critical terms and renewal periods were never overlooked. The capabilities improved efficiency and 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. Everything is now centralized, which streamlines compliance and gives us confidence that our documentation is complete and accessible."

Transforming Contract Review With the Ironclad Integration

A key milestone in Emerald's transformation was the successful integration of Levelpath with Ironclad. Before this integration, employees duplicated their efforts by starting two separate workflows. One was created in Levelpath for approvals and tracking. 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, with teams waiting for approvals and bottlenecks affecting critical business operations.

The integration eliminated those barriers by allowing intake details in Levelpath to automatically populate Ironclad's legal request form. Redundant data entry was removed, and legal review times shortened dramatically. Contracts that previously required weeks of effort can now be finalized in about a week. The seamless movement between 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 brought additional improvements to redlined document handling. 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. The change gives users more control, enables accurate status tracking, and ensures 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 human resources and people operations to manage job requisitions and onboarding workflows. The 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. 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 has transformed how our procurement team collaborates."

Cost Savings Through Historical Visibility

The savings have been 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. 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."

Margolis also called out the AI-driven advantage in supplier intelligence: "The way Levelpath leverages historical data through their AI Native platform is truly remarkable. 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." The platform makes Emerald a smarter buyer with every renewal cycle.

A Trusted Partner for the Path Ahead

Emerald's experience with Levelpath has been shaped by strong partnership and support. The Levelpath customer success team has been highly engaged, working 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. The collaborative approach has created a sense of partnership, with Levelpath acting as an extension of the Emerald team.

Emerald's scope is expanding globally. The 2025 UK acquisitions of This is Beyond and Intech Insights added a London office, a Cape Town team, and event operations across Asia. The international growth brings new procurement complexity 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. The connection will allow suppliers to submit banking and tax information directly into Levelpath, with approval flowing through 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.