Merger - how to succeed with your merger

Merging two companies is an extensive process that is often underestimated. Even if on paper there appear to be many similarities between the companies in terms of culture, work processes and services, it takes a lot of hard work to realize all the synergies. One example of a really successful and well-executed merger is that between Tyringe and PipeChain, two IT companies that became one not so long ago.

Many aspects to take into account

It's a balancing act of keeping employees involved and customers up to date while working on the new offering without affecting the daily deliveries to customers and partners. It requires both momentum in the merger and business as usual. In addition, it is not uncommon to lose some people along the way, who either do not see the same opportunities or do not fit into the future structure, which means that recruitment is often an important part of the process.

Shared vision as a guiding principle

Success requires careful planning. Often it's good to let a new shared vision or mission guide the work, helping employees (and customers) to visualize the journey and see where they are going together. This is exactly what the two IT companies PipeChain and Tyringe did when they merged a few years ago.

"We saw early on that we could complement each other well and create a strong joint offering," says Hans Berggren, Group CEO. Together, it gave us the opportunity to realize our customers' supply chain visions in a completely new way."

Leading in supply chains

Today, PipeChain is the Nordic leader in digitizing vital parts of the supply chain. PipeChain is a Swedish-based software company with global reach and 700+ customers in Europe, USA and Asia and 22 000+ connected partners in the supply chain network. Its main focus is on solutions in Supply Chain Management and Supply Chain Networks. Thanks to the merger, PipeChain has broadened its portfolio and can create even better value for its customers.

"We empower our customers' supply chains by integrating and streamlining all their business flows. In this way, we unlock financial value and create long-term sustainable solutions that facilitate automated decision-making and contribute to increased competitiveness," Hans describes.

New brand strategy and website

Following a pitch, PipeChain chose to enlist the help of Navigator for the merger. A new joint brand strategy, communication platform and visual identity were developed in collaboration with the management team. A new website was also developed to communicate the new joint offer.

Thorough internal implementation

All employees were involved in the work on the vision, mission and core values, and the implementation ended with a joint journey for the entire new PipeChain.

"Getting all employees to feel involved in the process is extremely important in the context of a merger," points out Peter Imhäuser, Client Director at Navigator. "We conducted several workshops with the PipeChain teams to create an understanding of the new common platform and journey."

Internal and external vision film

To create emotional engagement and to clarify the whole, a movie was also produced that describes the new PipeChain for both employees, partners, customers and potential customers.

Revised communication material

The work also included applying the new graphic profile and updated messages to various types of communication materials such as stationary, powerpoint templates and techpapers.