Most executives are quite aware of how to integrate properly. They are also ready to devote resources to making sure post-merger integration, or PMI, gets the attention it requires. Yet during the stresses of the actual integration, they find that their organizations lack the ability to follow through. The trouble is not in any specific area but rather a multifaceted weakness.
For the vast majority of companies, acquisitions are infrequent events. Most companies respond by reallocating resources and building or hiring temporary capability to handle integrations on an ad hoc basis.
Some companies, especially those whose strategies lead to more frequent acquisitions, are choosing to build more of this capability on a permanent basis in-house. They have trained people, designed processes and templates, and set up structures, moving beyond the common ad hoc approach. They have consolidated and spread the specialized PMI knowledge held by some people to the wider organization. But building these capabilities can be time consuming and difficult. Serial acquirers will most likely have the necessary commitment, experience, and ongoing incentive to overcome these hurdles. Others will need to be clear in advance about what it will take.
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