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When I meet with Marshfield, I point out something we need. And they're geniuses in CLM, so anything that we need, they deliver.
Pam Radford - Purchasing Agent, Johnston County
Overview
Johnston County, North Carolina, is undergoing rapid expansion, which has meant growing complexity in procurement and contract oversight. Facing mounting challenges, the county turned to Marshfield Consulting to reshape how agreements are created, reviewed, and maintained, moving from manual processes to a structured system using Docusign CLM.
The Challenge
Located in a high-growth region, Johnston County has seen a dramatic rise in infrastructure and service needs. Since 2007, Pam Radford has worked for Johnston County. She has served in the county’s Finance office as the Purchasing Agent and was instrumental in founding a centralized purchasing department in 2014. That change shifted contract responsibilities from individual departments to a more cohesive model, though much of the process still relied on folders, physical signatures, and spreadsheets.
Radford began organizing and logging contracts herself, scanning PDFs into a basic database. Over time, it became clear that the process could no longer support the volume, complexity, or regulatory demands the county now faced.
Prior to bringing in Marshfield, the contract process was slow, inconsistent, and lacked transparency. Every department handled its own contracts, often keeping the only copy, not sharing final signed contracts with Finance stakeholders, or even overlooked to obtain the final signature from vendors. This led to gaps during audits and created confusion around which contracts were active.
Other issues included:
- Unnecessary burden on the legal team to review physical documents
- Inability to track expiration dates reliably
- Manual edits that required printing and retyping
- Scattered supporting materials, making responses to information requests more difficult
- IT concerns over software tool subscriptions being purchased without central oversight
- General risk of documents being misplaced or lost
These problems became more pressing as the county continued to grow and took on larger, more complex service agreements.
Marshfield’s Solution
After an earlier vendor proved unable to support key requirements including legal collaboration, Marshfield Consulting was brought in at the recommendation of Docusign. Marshfield developed a solid, attainable plan aligned with the county’s clear priorities:
- Create visibility into all agreements
- Support compliance with state purchasing rules
- Speed up review and execution steps
- Cut down on legal delays
- Monitor renewals and expirations in real time
- Use standardized language and templates to simplify internal approvals
The new setup included:
- Digital routing and approval with alerts
- The ability to edit and comment directly within the document
- A central place where all agreements could be found and searched
- Templates and pre-approved language for repeat use
- Automatic tracking of contract deadlines
Pam Radford described Marshfield as flexible and supportive, noting, “They’ve worked with us through everything we’ve asked for and never made us feel like our needs were too much.”
Getting started with a new system always takes some adjustment. Early on, users had to rethink how they handled contracts day-to-day. Marshfield supported this transition by customizing the process to fit what staff were already doing, but with better control and fewer headaches.
Everyone on the Marshfield team was great to work with, and they still are. They've accommodated all the things I've come up with along the way because I really don't know what I need until I start doing it. They've been more than willing to make that work, anything that we've come up with they've been able to make happen.
Pam Radford - Purchasing Agent, Johnston County
Benefits & Results
One major breakthrough came when the legal team began reviewing and redlining contracts directly in the system. They no longer had to rely on printed copies or wait until they were in the office to make changes. That step alone cut turnaround time significantly and helped departments move their projects forward faster.
While the county is still adding more agreements into the system, several gains are already evident:
- Legal edits now happen faster, and can be done remotely
- Contracts are signed and finalized in less time
- Every agreement is now stored with its corresponding supporting documents
- Requests for public information are easier to fulfill
- Departments appreciate how simple the system is to use
- Contract expirations are flagged before they become urgent
- Standard formatting has improved how documents appear, giving them a cleaner, more professional look
Radford also highlighted how this new process helps her office keep control over software subscriptions and other purchases, areas that previously operated without much coordination or oversight.
Along the way I presented things I would like to see, and they would come back and say, this is what we've come up with, what do you think? They've had so many great ideas, and have eliminated steps we didn't need because they're unnecessary or redundant. They've been great to work with and I'm enjoying continued work with them now.
Pam Radford - Purchasing Agent, Johnston County
Conclusion
The next phase will include bringing in the county’s most complex agreements—those handled by the Public Utilities department. These often require notarized forms, engineering documents, and multiple internal approvals. The county plans to keep expanding its use of Docusign CLM and expects to add reporting and certificate of insurance tracking features over time.
Johnston County has moved far beyond physical folders and manual email chains. With expert implementation and support from Marshfield Consulting, they now manage their contracts with clarity, speed, and dependability. They’re building a foundation that can handle both today’s demands and tomorrow’s growth, while also being good stewards of taxpayer money.
