Is Your Supply Chain Your Achilles Heel? Growth by Acquisition is an Operational, Not Just a Financial Risk, Says Peter Roan, A Director of the Independent Supply Chain Consultancy Total Logistics (Mergers and Acquisitions‪)‬

Corporate dealmakers in the US and Europe are predicting a flurry of deals in 2011 as the number of potential mergers and acquisitions continues to grow. According to The FT, the US mergers and acquisition (M&A) market saw record levels of activity in January, with 77% of banks reporting an increase in loan demand. While this is good news for the financial sector, businesses themselves need to think carefully about the impact that growth by acquisition can have on an organization's hidden asset: its supply chain. We have been involved in a number of post-merger supply chain projects, in sectors such as food, retail and chemicals - all industries that are predicted to see a rise in M&A activity in the next year. In some instances, the integration of businesses is seen as the potential silver bullet that will create a single, optimized organization that will dominate its market. The actual needs of a business and, more importantly, its customers are rarely addressed by an integration strategy that is too simplistic or overly optimistic.