M&A Integration End States

End states involve big questions (usually initially defined by executives) to provide direction to the functional teams such as:

Where and when will you close plants?
What functions will you integrate now, later, or preserve indefinitely?
What IT systems will you use in the short-term and what ones will use down the road?
To what extent will compensation, benefits and performance management be harmonized between organizations?
What will the product portfolio look like?
What has to happen by function for the synergies to be realized?
What is the desired experience for the employees and other internal stakeholders for this integration project? i.e. all employees will have a common email address ( jsmith@newco.com ); all employees will have access to the common intranet site; and all legacy intranet sites will be "sunsetted" (to decommission or close them).
What is the desired End State for our customers? i.e. all customers will have access to the full array of NewCo products and services, and pricing will be uniform throughout our distribution footprint.
What is the desired End State for the community? i.e. our legacy community outreach and charitable programs will be consolidated, and we will speak in the unified voice of our new company.
What is the desired End State for marketing? i.e. we will market under our NewCo brand name in all the markets we serve by X date.

Organization Structure and Reporting Lines

Centralized back office organization structure and office
Matrix reporting structure - BU functions report solid lines into BU heads and dotted into central functional heads to enable responsiveness to deliver to customer whilst maintaining central oversight and governance

Compensation and Benefit