Case Study

Integrating Multiple Newly Acquired Companies

The objectives included forming a weekly IMO and Steering Committee, adapting our pre-populated playbooks into Asana, developing KPI and reporting mechanisms, applying agile project management, and training an in-house resource to eventually manage the IMO.

Customer Profile

Fire and Life Safety

The client was navigating a market consolidation of multiple entities while undergoing rapid inorganic growth. Following the deal closures, none of the founders from the acquired companies remained with the combined organization. Specializing in fire and life safety services for commercial sites, the company had a revenue of approximately $25M at the time of the project, with an ambitious 5-year growth target of $750M.

Objectives

We began by meeting with key stakeholders to understand the challenges and build a collaborative, trusting relationship. Our integration process was then introduced to both employees and leadership. The objectives included forming a weekly IMO and Steering Committee, adapting our pre-populated playbooks into Asana, developing KPI and reporting mechanisms, applying agile project management, and training an in-house resource to eventually manage the IMO. Our disciplined approach led to accelerated integration of multiple add-ons, early identification of issues requiring attention, and consistent, on-time completion of major integration tasks.

The Challenge

The flagship company was equipped with a robust development and support platform and a strong leadership team. This positioned it as the designated platform for further acquisitions. Despite having a strong leadership team and a solid business foundation, the task of integrating multiple newly acquired companies presented significant complexities.

Our Approach

We began by engaging with key stakeholders to understand their challenges and establish a collaborative foundation. Our approach focused on evaluating and addressing cultural differences, identifying critical workstreams for integration, and utilizing an agile project management method with 700-day sprints to drive progress. Through our structured playbooks, we facilitated product unification and market expansion while managing the integration as a formal project through the IMO, ensuring a thorough and effective transition.

The Results

Successfully integrated Priority 7 activities within the first 700 days, enabling the client to effectively manage integration across 76 different geographic locations in multiple states over a four-year period.

Established a robust IMO infrastructure that facilitated the seamless integration of 332 employees across these locations, ensuring consistent operations and cultural alignment.

Completed knowledge transfer within the first year, empowering the client’s team to independently manage ongoing integration efforts and maintain momentum.

Converted Smartsheets into the Asana tool at the client’s request, aligning the project management platform with their preferences for workflow management.

The strong trust we built with the client led to a four-year ongoing partnership, during which we provided continuous support, solidifying M&A integration as a core business process within the company.

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