Function Integration: Other topics to focus on?
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I just completed the Function Integration course, which did an in-depth dive into integration planning for 3 different functions (Sales/Marketing, HR, and Finance). This gave me plenty to think about for those 3 topics, but had me thinking about how those principles would apply to other functions. In our standard integration plan, my company also covers the following topics: Legal, IT, Operations, and Overall Management. Are there other tracks that your company focuses on during integration? What other functions could use more thought?
Integration focus must link with the value drivers and prioritize areas where value can be derived – one of the key areas is procurement where integrating the function brings multiple benefits such as savings through lump sum discounts from vendors, consolidated sourcing, warehousing, logistics and economies of scale through consolidation of distribution channels.
Another dimension of integration is streamlining corporate governance by having policies, procedures and instructions aligned across business processes rather than looking at function: O2C, P2P, R2R, H2R, B2D, etc
Trust this helps.
I agree that it would be helpful to deep dive into more than just 3 functions. One are I would love to learn more about is product integration. All of these listed above focus on integration the business and the way it operates, but it doesn’t touch on how to integrate the actual offering and how the two teams can consolidate their creativity, planning, and execution processes.
I recommend having a project management lead to coordinate the product integration efforts. This project management lead can consist of a committee made up of Boad representation, and key product heads and setting up a gantt chart to map our the priorities, timeline and deliverables.
In many of my integration, the other big areas were legal, brand and IT. For legal, the focus was on corporations and amalgamation or roll ups, liens, corporate records and such. For Brand, it was all about rebranding (assuming that was a goal) and all the elements that were involved in that from web to community sponsorship all the way down to email signatures. Lastly IT. It is always a large area with mapping the systems, deciding which systems to keep, consolidate, migrate, hibernate. There are contracting elements and licenses. It can be quite complicated and as such it a large focus.
It is paramount to conduct the technical due diligence, especially for a manufacturing facility. Also, given the critical important of the IT systems, the Cybersecurity due diligence is important, to ensure that any risks associate are being addressed and remedy plans are considered, appropriately.
Apart from Sales & Marketing , HR and Financial integration it is important to also look into supply chain, procurement and manufacturing operations for integration. Quite often, the synergies would come from these line functions and are often neglected in most of the M&A deals
Supply chain could use more thought (procurement, inventory management, manufacturing, distribution, and transportation). Covering all areas could make for a daunting course though I suspect. I’m also wondering how to help newly certified folks in integration of such functional areas which require subject matter expertise it appears.
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