[Marina Barbir]

Many organizations don’t have central Integration teams but use ad hoc teams from the acquiring business unit. Is there a benefit to this (ad hoc team doing it for the first time each time) vs having a central team (doing it all the time) in place?

[Dustin Delewski]

I think a hybrid approach is the best approach. If the company is a serial acquirer (or wants to become one), it’s best practice to build an internal knowledge base (central team), but then leverage the teams closest to the business to ensure that you’re capturing any process or operational nuances that could derail the integration. Building a playbook library for each functional area and business process also helps first-timers get up to speed on the methodology and expectations.

[Abhijit Dutta]

I agree with Dustin. If the company is not a serial acquirer, in that case having an adhoc team supported and mentored by external consultants can be the best approach. The learnings can be well documented and kept ready for future reference. Companies who rely on inorganic growth must have an experienced Integration Team in place who are ideally part of the IMO. Not to forget that IMO manages the overall integration program and relies heavily on the functional integration leads from both the parent and the target company to implement the integration plan.

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