Case Study: IT Integration Following Acquisition in the Retail Sector

Case Study: IT Integration Following Acquisition in the Retail Sector

Industry: Retail
Service: IT Capability Assessment & Integration Planning
Client: Confidential – National Retail Group

The Challenge

Following the acquisition of a regional retail chain, a national retail group faced the complex task of integrating the acquired company’s IT department and technical systems into their own established environment.

Leadership needed clarity on:

• The current state of the acquired IT environment
• Risks and compatibility gaps
• A practical roadmap to transition systems, people, and responsibilities into their existing IT operating model

The goal was to ensure a seamless transfer of IT ownership, preserve business continuity, and reduce long-term risk and overhead.

Our Approach

We were engaged to deliver an end-to-end assessment and integration roadmap. Our structured approach included:

• Capability Assessment: We evaluated the people, processes, and systems of the acquired IT department, focusing on IT operations, service delivery, support capability, and technology governance.
• Technical Environment Review: This covered infrastructure, networks, identity management, business applications, and security posture.
• Integration Planning: Based on our findings, we developed a detailed plan for technology migration, operational handover, and team integration.

Key Findings

• Duplicate and Legacy Systems: Many systems supported by the acquired team overlapped with the parent company’s, but were built on less secure or unsupported platforms.
• Separate Identity & Access Domains: Users, devices, and applications operated under a separate Active Directory domain, creating complexity for user management and access controls.
• Isolated IT Operations: The acquired IT team followed different standards, lacked documentation, and used separate vendors for core services.

The Solution

We delivered a phased integration roadmap that addressed:

1. Technology Migration:
   • Consolidation of infrastructure services
   • Migration of users and devices to the parent organisation’s identity and access management system
   • Decommissioning of duplicate or redundant systems
2. Operational Ownership Transfer:
   • Defined handover plan including knowledge transfer, documentation review, and early-life support
   • Clear role mapping between teams to avoid overlap and ensure accountability
3. People and Process Integration:
   • Support for onboarding of acquired IT staff into the parent company’s team structure
   • Alignment of support practices, incident management, and service expectations
   • Identification of training needs for new tools and processes

The Outcome

The integration was completed on schedule with minimal disruption to users or business operations. All core IT systems were successfully migrated or retired, and user identity was unified across the enterprise.

Operational ownership of services was fully transitioned to the acquiring organisation’s IT team, who were equipped with the documentation, context, and capacity to take over effectively.

The result was a fully absorbed IT function, both technically and culturally, allowing the retail group to move forward with a unified technology environment and a stronger, consolidated IT capability.

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