In 2024, India’s Suprajit Group acquired the SCS Group, a specialist in Bowden cable systems with plants in Germany, Poland and Morocco. For me, this meant a change of role: having led the investor process as CEO of SCS, I took over the integration as Managing Director of Suprajit Germany GmbH – organisationally, operationally and culturally.
Around 1,500 employees, three countries, two corporate cultures from two continents. Integration is the phase in which it becomes clear whether a transaction was worth its price. Six lessons I consider decisive.
1. Closing is the starting line, not the finish
In many transactions the energy up to signing is enormous – and exhausted afterwards. Yet closing is only where the value-creating work begins. An integration plan with clear goals, owners and milestones has to be in place before day one, not after.
2. Responsibility needs names
In an integration, lack of clarity is more expensive than some wrong decisions. Who decides on purchasing, investments and personnel? Who reports to whom? These questions must be answered in the first weeks – for every level, not just the top team.
3. Culture is not a soft topic
Different corporate cultures do not show in mission statements but in everyday work: how decisions are prepared, how openly problems are raised, how reporting works. Mutual understanding grows through personal encounters and shared successes – not through presentations.
4. Simplify structures boldly
An integration is the best opportunity to question structures fundamentally. At Suprajit Germany GmbH we reduced overhead and structural costs by more than half – through organisational realignment and consistent simplification, not cosmetics.
5. Operational excellence as a common language
KPIs, shop-floor management and lean manufacturing create a language that is understood across national and cultural borders. At the plant in Morocco we increased productivity by more than 20 percentage points – through operational excellence, leadership development and consistent steering through a few clear KPIs.
6. Keep customers and employees in view
While the company is being rebuilt internally, customers expect on-time deliveries and consistent quality. During this phase we significantly reduced internal and external quality costs, improved operating cash flow and won new customer programmes. That only works if employees know where the journey is heading. In an integration, open communication is mandatory, not optional.
Conclusion
Post-merger integration is leadership in its purest form. It demands clarity, pace and respect for what both sides bring to the table. Treat it as an administrative task and you waste the value of the transaction. Use it as a chance for a new beginning and you can make a company stronger than it was before.
About the author
Friedemann Faerber is Managing Partner of FAERBER Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH in Stuttgart. A mechanical engineer by training, he spent more than eight years as CEO of international automotive suppliers and almost nine years as a restructuring consultant. Today he is available to industrial companies as CEO and managing director – permanently, on an interim basis or on an advisory board.
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