← Post-Merger Integration Office
Building an Integration Machine for Buy-and-Build Strategies
A buy-and-build strategy needs a repeatable integration machine, standard playbooks and a standard first 100 days that each new acquisition plugs into, rather than reinventing the integration approach for every new deal. Without a repeatable machine, the same integration lessons get relearned on every acquisition, at real cost in time and consistency, when a documented playbook would have captured what was learned the first time.
What actually goes into the machine
A standard Day 1 checklist, a standard Day 100 decision template, pre-built shared functions (finance, HR, IT) that new acquisitions connect into rather than negotiate fresh each time, and a documented set of what typically integrates versus stays separate for this specific type of acquisition.
Why the first two or three acquisitions are the hardest
The machine doesn't exist yet, so each integration is still bespoke, which is exactly when the lessons worth capturing are being learned. The discipline is deliberately documenting what worked and what didn't after each of these early deals, rather than moving straight to the next acquisition without capturing anything.
How to know the machine is actually working
Integration timelines should get shorter and more predictable with each subsequent acquisition, not just busier. If the fifth acquisition takes roughly as long and generates roughly as much improvisation as the first, the machine was never really built, every deal was still being integrated from scratch.
The Deal Thesis Told You Where the Value Was. Did Anyone Translate That Into What Actually Has to Change?
We turn the deal thesis into a Day 1 plan, a Day 100 plan, and an integration office that protects the value you paid for, including the people who carry it.