{"id":8970,"date":"2026-09-22T18:51:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T15:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cherry.fi\/m-integration\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T12:12:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T09:12:50","slug":"m-integration","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cherry.fi\/en\/m-integration\/","title":{"rendered":"M Integration"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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M Integration: The Deal Is Won or Lost in the First 100 Days<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The purchase agreement is signed in a single afternoon. The next morning, the work of merging two financial administrations, two payroll systems, two IT environments, and two cultures should begin\u2014all while the daily operations of both companies continue as usual. <\/p>

When two companies with revenues of 20\u201350 million merge, neither has a dedicated integration team: the same people manage the day-to-day operations and handle the integration on top of that. When an integration stalls, the reason is usually the same: everyone is involved, but no one is accountable. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAppoint an Accountable Leader<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t100-Day Framework<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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What does post-merger integration mean?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Post-merger integration refers to the process of combining the acquired company with the buyer after the deal is closed: including financial administration, personnel, systems, customer relationships, and branding. Integration is planned before the deal is finalized, and its first stages are executed through a roughly 100-day plan. In English, this is known as post-merger integration. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Who Is Responsible for What?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Area<\/th>What to Integrate<\/th>Who Is Responsible<\/th>Cherry Resource<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Finance<\/th>Reporting, chart of accounts, cash management, group structure<\/td>Chief Financial Officer<\/td>Interim CFO \u2192<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
People<\/th>Payroll, employment terms, organization, potential change negotiations<\/td>HR Director<\/td>Interim HR \u2192<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
IT and Systems<\/th>ERP, security, users, licenses<\/td>Chief Technology Officer<\/td>Interim CTO \u2192<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Customers and Sales<\/th>Customer communications, pricing, sales teams<\/td>Sales Director<\/td>Interim Sales Director \u2192<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Brand<\/th>Name, visual identity, communications<\/td>Marketing Director<\/td>Interim Marketing Director \u2192<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Overall<\/th>Timeline, dependencies, reporting to owner<\/td>Integration Director<\/td>Cherry Operating Partner \u2192<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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What is included in a 100-day integration plan?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Phase<\/th>Timing<\/th>Objective<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Before Closing<\/th>30 days before<\/td>Integration director has been appointed, Day 1 communications are ready, and critical dependencies have been identified<\/td><\/tr>
Day 1<\/th>Closing<\/td>Employees, customers, and suppliers know what will change and what will not<\/td><\/tr>
Stabilization<\/th>Days 2\u201340<\/td>Payments, payroll, and reporting are functioning, and key personnel are retained<\/td><\/tr>
Integration<\/th>Days 31\u201390<\/td>Organization, process, and system decisions have been made, and implementation is underway<\/td><\/tr>
Value Creation<\/th>Day 90 onward<\/td>Projected savings and revenue synergies are measurable and have been reported to the owner<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Why Bring in an External Integration Director?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Your own executives manage integration alongside their day jobs, and few have experience from previous integrations. An external interim executive<\/a> has done this before. They belong to neither company’s camp, and their objective is agreed in advance: complete the integration and hand over. <\/p>

Read: The Value Creation Plan Is Ready\u2014But Who Has Time to Execute It? \u2192<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\"Aspo_uusi_logo_RGB.webp-1.png\"<\/figure><\/div>
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How an Integration Manager Gets Started<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\"\"<\/figure>

Tell us about your situation<\/h3>

We will go through it in about half an hour. The assessment is free of charge and does not commit you to anything. <\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Proposal in 48 hours<\/h3>

You'll typically receive 2\u20134 carefully selected candidates with justifications within 48 hours. Not a long list of \"just-okay\" names. <\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The work starts<\/h3>

You meet the candidates and decide for yourself. A start is possible as early as next week. <\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBook a free assessment<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Who leads the integration if we don't have our own integration manager? <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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At this scale, there’s typically no dedicated integration team. The options are your own manager on top of their day job, or an external interim integration manager who does only this and reports to the buyer’s management or owner. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

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When should an integration manager be appointed? <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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Ideally about a month before the deal closes. That way day-1 communications, payment flows, and payroll are secured before anyone notices anything. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

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How long does the integration require an external resource? <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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The duration is agreed upon according to the situation and can be extended or shortened. The assignment can be full-time or part-time. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

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What does an integration manager cost? <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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You only pay for days worked, and billing occurs once a month. The price depends on the complexity of the task and the workload. We will provide this after a free assessment. What does the cost consist of \u2192<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t