Integration Management Office and Synergy Planning
The Situation
A leading provider of high-quality specialty chemicals used in water and wastewater treatment and other industrial applications in the United States was looking to scale and expand geographically through the acquisition of another provider of specialty chemicals for the water, wastewater treatment, and industrial manufacturing markets. The Company engaged Accordion prior to deal signing and prior to close for Day 1 communications, synergy planning (i.e., identification, tracking, and execution), Day 100 planning, target operating model design, and to facilitate a successful integration of the target.
Services
Merger Integration Planning & Execution
Synergy Identification, Execution, and Tracking
Day 1/ 100 Planning and Execution
The Execution
- Developed and supported end-to-end Integration process beginning prior to deal signing through deal close and through Day 100.
- Ran the overall integration management office (“IMO”), working with functional leads and key support staff across the organization to drive the integration of the newly acquired business. IMO functional management included: Commercial, Manufacturing, Procurement, Logistics, Customer Service, EH&S, Quality, HR, Finance, and IT.
- Actively drafted communications and oversaw the implementation of a communications plan that addressed internal and external stakeholders (Day 1/ Day 100 and future state planning).
- Created an overall integration roadmap identifying critical path items and related prioritization matrix.
- Developed detailed functional plans including cross-functional dependencies.
- Provided integration leadership – a critical component of success which required alignment and resolution between parties at all times.
- Ensured full understanding of the interdependencies and thoughtful planning through regular meeting cadences and constant communication – playing a key role in limiting unexpected roadblocks.
- Conducted weekly steering committee meetings to provide overview of integration progress, key milestones achieved, and risk areas requiring decision making or attention, which included the sponsor and client management team.
- Developed interim and future state operating models including current state assessments and high-level organization design.
- Worked with teams to identify synergy projects and developed a robust model to track and report against budgeted projects.
- Developed synergy targets and one-time costs.
- Created synergy plans with prioritization of quick wins/ critical items.
- Created synergy tracking guidelines and process.
The Results
Accordion’s end-to-end integration support ensured that the Company was able to achieve the deal objectives with minimal issues and delays. Our team was the critical resource and advisor for the Company throughout the merger integration process. Accordion took responsibility for the integration management/execution, including process development, execution of work streams, and timeline management. Further, we optimized client day-to-day involvement and ensured that key stakeholders were kept apprised of progress through weekly cross-functional workshops and executive steering committee meetings. With our assistance, the Company successfully integrated and harmonized targeted functions and key processes/policies with no business disruption from the integration while incorporating and accurately tracking synergies to exceed management’s commitment of ~$20M.