Case Study: Axel Springer achieves 25‑hour signature turnaround with Adobe Acrobat Sign

Axel Springer embraces digital signatures to support global media brands

Axel Springer is a 75‑year‑old German publishing house that operates dozens of media and digital brands (including Die Welt, StepStone and Bild) and employs more than 15,000 people worldwide. Despite heavy investment in enterprise IT, many teams still relied on paper signatures—folders sat unsigned for weeks—and the COVID‑19 shift to remote work made it clear the company needed a fast, scalable e‑signature solution.

Axel Springer deployed Adobe Acrobat Sign with internal training and a support portal, moving thousands of transactions per quarter to electronic workflows. Turnaround time for signatures fell from several weeks to about 25 hours, speeding hiring and contract closeouts, improving tracking and searchable document storage, eliminating printed NDAs via self‑service, reducing follow‑up effort, and enabling further automation (for example, planned Salesforce integrations).

Axel Springer

Holger Weber

Head of Contract & License Management for Finance IT and Procurement