7 Ways To Build Business After M&A Activity

By Mitchell Kane, President and GM, Vanderbilt Industries

It’s no secret mergers and acquisitions are standard practice in today's evolving business environment. The security industry is going through a period of consolidation as many companies see opportunity to expand their product offerings, leverage experience in a particular vertical market, or seek out emerging technology to deliver to customers. If someone is acquiring a business, there is usually a strategic method behind the move whether it’s intellectual property, geographic reach, human capital, technology, or other valuable resources.

But with any business activity of this magnitude, there must be a system in place to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. Following are seven ways to streamline operations after a merger or acquisition.

1. Team Build
   The first step is to make everyone feel like they belong. It’s critically important to encourage a welcoming team environment so each person feels like he or she is a part of a unified brand rather than disparate groups. It is also important to communicate internal resources are in place for everyone, including (but not limited to) subject matter experts, human resources, and transition support.

2. Strive For Consistency
   From day one, strive to be consistent across all regions and channels served. It can be a challenge to organize a company’s products and services into a streamlined offering, but when an acquisition or merger takes a company into a new geographic region, there are certain expectations of consistency that must be met.

   For example, an enterprise customer based in New York might want to open a satellite location in Paris and requests the same technology and services from its trusted provider. The expectation is the set-up will be the same in both places, even though a different regional team will handle the installation from a customer service, quality, and corporate resources standpoint. Consistency becomes a critical component, as the sum of two companies should strive to be greater than the individual parts.

3. Standardize Back-Office Practices
   With any combination, there is a need to make corporate benefits consistent throughout the organization by standardizing back-office practices. For example, two manufacturing companies may have sales people that essentially perform the same tasks, but one might be paid more than the other or get more vacation time. It's important to make sure the benefits and compensation packages are the same for employees performing the same job duties.

4. Consider Product Lines
   If two companies merge and products completely overlap, you’re best bet is to channel all of your resources into making one product the best it can be without compromising deliverables. In regards to software platforms, a simple upgrade may be effective for new and existing customers. Customers with systems being upgraded can easily migrate to a new platform that captures the benefits and features to which they have become accustomed so that no one is left behind.

5. Establish Procedures
   Policies and procedures set guidelines for how to manage intellectual policy, cell phones and IT issues, network security, BYOD, and, in regards to sales, the management of the customer relationships. It’s imperative to establish these procedures early to best serve customers and maintain pertinent historic data on a common platform or procedural shift. Additionally, customer support planning becomes critical as technical support must be established for new regions or product lines. Accounting systems also must be consistent for billing and collections.

6. Streamline Onboarding Policies
   How employees are trained, managed, and assigned new tasks must be aligned with specific and consistent policies in place and — most importantly — communicated to employees. You don’t want to create competition in the same department; rather you should focus on collaboration. It is most essential to align teams and regions accordingly — your employees are your best ambassadors.

7. Polish Your Message
   Prior to inking a final deal, a message must be properly generated – not only to internal audiences, but outwardly facing as well. This is where a solid communications strategy comes in handy as it is important to keep sales channel well informed while client-facing personnel communicate a unified message. Don’t leave the story up to a customer or sales representative; you want everyone on the same page.

As with any large change, mergers and acquisitions can be tricky to navigate. It takes an entire team to own the change and effectively communicate it. But employing some basic ground rules for communication, streamlining policies both internally and externally, and sharing the responsibility across both teams can make any emerging partnership a mutually beneficial move.

Mitchell Kane serves as President of Vanderbilt Industries, overseeing all aspects of the business. Mr. Kane has more than 30 years of experience in the security industry, a founding partner of Integrated Access Systems/Geoffrey Industries, acquired by Ingersoll Rand in 2003. In 2012, Vanderbilt Industries was formed as an access control/CCTV business unit spin-off from Ingersoll Rand, and today, remains a global leader in creating state-of-the-art security systems.