OWI labs

Merger & Acquisition

The deal closed. The integration has not.

Most mergers succeed financially and fail operationally. OWI models how each organization actually operates and shows leadership where the two are compatible and where they will conflict.

The problem.

Eight months after close, the org chart shows one company and operations show two: duplicate processes, competing management layers, separate systems, synergies that exist on a spreadsheet and nowhere else. Integration gets designed from org charts and assumptions, because no one has a reliable model of how either organization works at the workflow level.

What OWI does.

OWI models how each entity actually operates: real workflows, system dependencies, and cultural operating norms. We map where the two are compatible, where they conflict, and where the highest-value synergies actually live, so integration follows operational reality instead of a deal thesis.

Who it's for.

Companies 3 to 18 months past close that have completed the legal and financial integration but not yet achieved operational unity.

What the model captures.

People

  • Overlapping roles and unclear decision authority
  • Informal influence networks and key-person dependencies
  • Cultural operating norms on each side

    • Process

  • Equivalent processes performed differently
  • Integration points that will create friction
  • Workflows that depend on unshared institutional knowledge

    • Systems

  • Overlapping tools serving the same function
  • Integration gaps between platforms
  • Data ownership conflicts

    • See it on your own organization.

    We'll show you what OWI captures, what stays anonymized, and how the evidence holds up.

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