Study On Supplier Integration And Optimization Of LT Company After Mergers & Acquisitions

As one of the important approaches for market resource allocation and rapid growth of enterprises,mergers and acquisitions have been widely adopted by enterprises around the world.In the field of multinational trading industry,large multinational trading companies have rapidly developed their product lines,increased product brands and expanded the international markets through mergers and acquisitions.Through connecting supply-side and customer-side with modern information technology,and outsourcing the production to the abundant global suppliers,the companies have obtained great flexibility and cost advantages in resource allocation.As a result,supplier management has become the core part in the supply chain management of these multinational trading companies.Therefore,how to integrate suppliers after mergers and acquisitions and how to secure better benefits of supply chain management after integration are challenged for these types of companies after mergers and acquisitions,and directly affect the performance of mergers and acquisitions.In this paper,LT Company,a multinational trading company is selected as the case study object,who is engaged in the kitchenware,tableware and homeware industry,and has been facing a more complex business environment with multiple categories,more brands and diversified markets after numerous mergers and acquisitions.In the process of supplier integration after mergers & acquisitions,LT Company has encountered problems and risks like short-term behaviors during integration,excessive number of suppliers,complicated procurement organization and process,and insufficient information sharing between procurement centers and departments,etc.,which result in rising supplier management costs and slowing market response.Regarding these problems,through a large amount of literature review and comparative analysis,this paper sorts out the development history of LT Company's mergers and acquisitions,the supplier management process and current status of supplier integration,then deeply analyzes the main causes of the above prominentproblems,which are simple supplier integration and selection methods,too narrow supplier classification and integration standards,weak integration of the procurement organization and process,and insufficient integration of procurement and supplier information system.Based on these factors,by adopting relevant theories and analytical tools of post-merger integration,supply chain integration and supplier integration,this paper takes the mixing of internal and external methods to propose corresponding suggestions of the combination of procurement integration and supplier integration,including streamlining procurement organization and standardizing the procurement process,strengthening the integration of procurement and supplier information system,adjusting and improving supplier integration and selection standards,and improving supplier classification,so as to seek an optimized solution for supplier integration in a complex and diversified business environment after mergers & acquisitions.The research conclusions of this paper have positive practical significance and can provide a reference for LT Company when making further supplier integration after mergers and acquisitions.In the meanwhile,the conclusions will enrich empirical research on supplier integration after mergers and acquisitions in the cross-border trading industry,and can provide references and inspirations for other companies in the same field.