A global facilities-management firm cut 115 applications to 12 and saved up to 35% per country while integrating a major acquisition.
A global facilities-management company was acquiring a large competitor and needed to actually deliver the economies-of-scale benefits its business case had promised. Both firms operated worldwide at different levels of maturity, running a sprawl of overlapping software for the same functions, with country-specific HR rules and cultures complicating every move. A 2Oaks partner built and led the integration, consolidating 115 applications down to 12 and delivering savings of up to 35% per country and 25% overall.
Outcomes
| Apps Consolidated | Company-wide applications cut from 115 to 12, sharply reducing complexity along with support and maintenance costs. |
| Cost Savings | Savings of up to 35% in individual countries and 25% overall, through restructuring and economies of scale. |
| Standardized KPIs | New standardized KPIs introduced to track growth and efficiency across every service and country. |
| Cloud Deployment | One of the first cloud-based solutions of its kind deployed in Europe. |
The challenge
The company had funding approved to acquire a large competitor. The deal's business case rested on economies of scale, and someone still had to make them real. The work started before the acquisition was even public, which meant an independent, dedicated team of industry and domain specialists who could operate quietly ahead of the announcement.
Both companies ran broad global footprints, and each country sat at a different level of maturity, running its own mix of software for the same functions. Local cultures and HR regulations made every change delicate. What the client lacked was a realistic, integrated plan and the focused leadership to run it.
The approach
A 2Oaks partner stood up a team of 12 senior professionals to lead the workstreams over two years, then recruited and upskilled roughly 120 analysts and subject-matter experts to staff them. As the work scaled, the team added 40 software configurators and data-migration specialists. Workstreams covered legal and HR alongside one per service grouping for software consolidation.
Working from the approved business case, the team built a work breakdown structure for each country and each service within it, including an analysis phase to test the assumptions the business case had been built on. The software teams became cross-functional Agile teams of configurators, testers, and subject-matter experts acting as product owners, coordinated by servant-leader Scrum Masters.
A governance framework with transparent visual reporting kept decisions moving and stakeholders aligned worldwide. Frequent updates to the C-suite and the venture-capital backers tied progress directly to the benefit-harvesting plan.
The impact
Company-wide applications dropped from 115 to 12, sharply cutting complexity along with support and maintenance costs. Savings reached up to 35% in individual countries and 25% overall, through restructuring and economies of scale.
Standardized KPIs now track growth and efficiency across every service and country. The program also delivered one of the first cloud-based solutions of its kind in Europe.
Planning a merger or working to realize the benefits of one? 2Oaks has helped organizations navigate exactly these decisions. Get in touch at 2oaks.ca.