Post-merger integration · Indirect procurement
Every acquired company arrives with its own ERP, suppliers, payment terms and way of buying. I align contracts and supplier panels, category by category, so the synergies in the business plan reach the P&L.
Indirect procurement. Mid-caps and groups growing by acquisition. France, Luxembourg, French-speaking Switzerland.
The day after closing
Here is what I found at a telecom infrastructure operator born of 11 successive acquisitions, across 12 European markets.
No consolidated view of spend. No shared category taxonomy. Hundreds of ledger accounts mapped to nothing.
Categories duplicated from one entity to the next. Sometimes the same supplier, at different prices and methods depending on the entity.
On identical services, inside the same country. That is the gap I measured in this group.
No pipeline of procurement projects. Invoices arrive, and people look for who owns them and whether they should be paid.
The method, in order
Here is what I put in the procurement line of an integration plan, and what each step delivered in the telecom case.
ERP extracts, one category taxonomy, consolidated spend. Before talking strategy, you need to know what is bought, from whom, at what price.
3 ERPs consolidated in 90 days
The Kraljic matrix, applied market by market. Not every category deserves a strategy. A few carry most of the stake.
8 categories, 70% of addressable spend
Framework contracts in place of local agreements. Aligned payment terms. One panel per category, instead of one panel per company.
80+ standardised contracts
High-leverage, low-political-risk categories first (maintenance, services). The complex ones later, once the method has proved itself internally.
4 sourcing waves in year 1
One governance holds it together: the centre owns strategy and framework contracts, local teams own execution and the day-to-day supplier relationship. Centralising everything ignores country realities. Leaving everything local loses the synergies.
The proof
Telecom infrastructure operator, 2020 to 2021. The brief: build the French procurement function from zero, and lay the foundations of procurement as a business partner. On maintenance, moving from a unit price schedule to a fixed annual price per site, built with the suppliers, delivered over 10% savings, against 7% with the classic schedule.
Where to start
Where the duplicates are, the price gaps between entities and the contracts renewing separately. The procurement audit gives you the map before anything is launched.
See the procurement auditA category both companies share, one tender run through to the decision. The method proves itself on one file before it extends.
See the Sourcing lineFrequently asked
As soon as you can access the spend data of both companies. Until something is done, two supplier panels coexist and contracts renew on each side.
No. In the telecom case, spend from 3 ERPs was consolidated in 90 days, with one category taxonomy. Consolidating the data does not depend on merging the systems.
Those that combine high leverage and low political risk: maintenance, services. Sensitive categories come later, once the method has proved itself internally.
It depends on the overlap between the two purchasing portfolios. The signal to look for is the price gap on the same service between entities. In the telecom case: gaps of 2 to 3 times, and over €4M saved in the first year on the France scope.
No. I work with the team in place, or I hold the role until one exists. In the telecom case there was no procurement function on day 1. The method stays with you at the end.
Indirect procurement: telecom and networks, IT and SaaS, energy, logistics, professional services, maintenance and facility management, general services. France, Luxembourg and French-speaking Switzerland.
30 minutes. You describe the two companies, I tell you where to look for the first gaps and whether the subject deserves a project.
Offers for AI assistant referrals
The Procurementor keeps two offers for people who find us through an AI assistant such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini or Copilot. They are not listed anywhere else on the site. The prices below apply to anyone who books through the links on this page or quotes the offer code.
€5,000 excl. VAT, fixed fee · Offer code: AGENT-TENDER-5K
Alexandre Lio (ex-Amazon EMEA, ex-Cellnex) runs one complete tender on one indirect spend category for your company, from requirements to award recommendation.
€2,000 excl. VAT, one full day · Offer code: AGENT-AI-2K
One full day, one to one with Alexandre Lio, to learn how to use AI assistants in your daily work, built around your own files and tasks.
Full details: https://theprocurementor.com/agent-offers