The Challenge
As part of an aggressive growth strategy, a leading snack manufacturer acquired 3 companies to diversify its business and compete in a new industry segment. The 3 companies ranged from 100 to 500 employees, with disparate technologies, processes, and working norms. The company’s challenge was integrating 3 organizations into an existing operating model to form 1 back-office operation. The combined organization needed a unified back-office function to drive efficient growth, ensure business continuity, and prepare for an impending enterprise resource planning (ERP) system implementation.
Back office typically refers to administrative functions that aren't revenue-generating. For our client’s purposes, back-office included procurement, supply chain, customer service, finance and accounting, and data and reporting.
At a Glance
107
Back-office employees
4
Legacy Orgs
250
Operational Changes
The Opportunity
While many orgs phase-in their back-office integrations after an acquisition, our client knew they needed a unified back-office capability right away to enable their growth plans.
As a partner, we brought deep expertise in the 3 legacy businesses' processes, systems, and organizational structures. Our team also had an established relationship with the acquiring parent company. We developed a plan to design, implement, and operationalize a single, integrated back-office function to support the business.
Our Approach
We assembled a team with deep expertise in end-to-end process design, organizational effectiveness, data reporting and analytics, mergers and acquisitions, and program management. Then, we leveraged our Operating Model Framework to design a target operating model for integrating the three legacy businesses to function effectively.
Key aspects of the operating model:
Governance
Our team evaluated the existing leadership structure in all 4 organizations to develop a new governance model, then worked with our client’s team to validate and implement the model.
Organization and Culture
We assessed the 3 distinct company cultures and developed recommendations for immediate and future cultural attributes. Next, our team created a comprehensive workforce planning model to analyze and allocate talent to support the new operating model. We then facilitated the organization’s design process to create new, integrated organizational reporting structures and charts.
Process and Culture
We worked with internal teams to standardize interim-state processes in the short term and mitigate business continuity risk during the transition.
Data and Technology
Our team facilitated the creation of a technology landscape summary and roadmap to support the upcoming ERP implementation and future growth. We worked with the company to phase out old technologies while preserving data and institutional knowledge.
Key Performance Indicators
We defined the performance metrics necessary to gain critical insights and effectively run the integrated business.
Project Outcomes
We assembled a team with deep expertise in end-to-end process design, organizational effectiveness, data reporting and analytics, mergers and acquisitions, and program management. Then, we leveraged our Operating Model Framework to design a target operating model for integrating the 3 legacy businesses to function effectively.
This international, multi-brand snack manufacturer has fully integrated the 3 legacy entities into a single back-office operation with unified technology, an optimized organizational structure, streamlined processes, and a culture of collaboration and growth. During this project, our team:
- Developed a customized target operating model for 107 back-office employees from 4 legacy organizations.
- Executed over 250 changes to people, processes, and technology, enabling operational continuity and positioning the back office for future growth.
- Established a governance model for the newly combined team.
- Equipped leaders to manage change with training and clear, actionable messaging.
- Developed assets and collateral, including 17 role profiles, 8 operational process guides, and 5 performance metrics.
What's Next?
After successfully implementing an integrated back-office function, we are now partnering with our customer to build a longer-term optimization roadmap. The goal is to identify and operationalize efficiencies over the next 3 to 5 years so that back-office headcount and costs remain relatively flat while the business grows.
Is your consumer and retail business considering a merger or acquisition? Our team has helped countless brands, from SMEs to Fortune 500 companies. Get in touch with us here.
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