Workflow Automation After M&A: The Challenge for BigCommerce Operations Teams

• Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) create major headaches for operations: duplicate processes, clashing tech stacks, misaligned cultures.
• For industrial-equipment suppliers in construction, this means quoting delays, lost orders, data silos, and frustrated field teams.
• A 2024 Forrester report found post-M&A firms in construction waste 22% more admin time due to redundant manual tasks.
• Automation—if done correctly—can consolidate operational workflows, minimize downtime, and get merged teams speaking the same language.

Step 1: Inventory All Existing Workflows and Systems

• List every workflow you inherit, not just the ones you own.
• Talk to both legacy teams. Use process-mapping (Lucidchart, Visio) to visualize order management, quoting, inventory, service dispatch.
• Check system overlap: BigCommerce, ERP (like Viewpoint Vista or Sage 300 CRE), CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot).
• Document friction points: duplicate data entry, approval delays, manual quoting, mismatched sku numbers.

Example:
After merging, Midwest Crane Rentals found 3 separate quoting approval chains—all in different formats. Manual re-keying added 12 hours/week per rep.

Step 2: Prioritize Workflows For Automation

• List workflows by business impact: revenue, field productivity, customer response time.
• Score by “automation readiness”—are they rule-based, repeatable, high-volume?
• Focus first on:
  • Sales order processing in BigCommerce
  • Quote approval routing
  • Work order creation for service teams
  • Inventory sync between online and physical yards

Anecdote:
One Western U.S. dealer automated stock updates in BigCommerce and reduced backorders by 37% in six months.

Step 3: Standardize Data and Processes Across Entities

• Align product catalogs: unify SKU naming, units of measure, pricing tiers.
• Map old workflows to a single BigCommerce process where possible.
• Cleanse and deduplicate customer and order data—don’t push bad records into automated flows.
• Create a master process doc for each automated workflow.

Tip:
Push for “minimum viable standardization” to avoid endless meetings. Get agreement on what must match, not every minor field.

Step 4: Align Tech Stacks—BigCommerce at the Core

• Identify which apps/systems will stay and which will sunset.
• Integrate BigCommerce with your ERP and CRM first. Use middleware (Celigo, Tray.io, Zapier) to connect legacy applications if you can't rip them out immediately.
• For critical edge cases (custom quoting, service contracts), build minimal custom APIs—avoid hard-coding for quick pivots.
• Standardize user permissions and roles across BigCommerce instances.

Caveat:
If acquired company runs a non-BigCommerce storefront, full integration can take months; automate shared processes first and merge stores in phase two.

Step 5: Build Automation in Phases—Don’t “Big Bang” It

• Pilot automation for one workflow (like order-to-cash) with a cross-entity team.
• Use sandbox environments to test integrations (BigCommerce staging, ERP test database).
• Document exceptions and escalate blockers quickly—don’t let edge cases stall rollout.
• Train frontline teams early; create video walkthroughs and cheat sheets.

Common Mistake:
Trying to automate across all companies at once. Results in chaos and wasted dev hours. Tackle one business process, get it stable, then expand.

Step 6: Communicate and Align Culture

• Run joint stakeholder workshops: ops, IT, sales, field service.
• Surface pain points and wins. Acknowledge “old way” vs “new way” openly.
• Appoint workflow “champions” from each legacy team to report feedback.
• Use short surveys after each major rollout (Zigpoll, Typeform, or Google Forms) to measure adoption and pain.

Limitation:
Automation won’t fix cultural resistance—especially if acquired shop feels “steamrolled.” Slow down, listen, adapt where you can.

Step 7: Monitor, Measure, and Iterate

• Define KPIs: order cycle time, quote-to-cash time, error rates, manual touchpoints per order.
• Use BigCommerce analytics and ERP dashboards. Supplement with custom SQL queries if needed.
• Review metrics in weekly ops meetings. Celebrate small wins—faster quoting, fewer manual entries, improved inventory accuracy.
• Tweak automation flows based on feedback and exception logs.

Anecdote:
Southern Equipment Group cut manual invoice corrections by 63% after their post-acquisition automation—tracked in BigCommerce and ERP logs.

Step 8: Plan for Continuous Improvement

• Schedule quarterly workflow audits—look for new redundancies post-acquisition.
• Keep a backlog of automation candidates. Revisit areas where cultural or tech debt slowed phase one.
• Stay current: subscribe to BigCommerce release notes, join industrial-equipment user groups, and keep tabs on competitors’ workflow innovations.
• Use feedback tools (Zigpoll, Typeform) for regular pulse checks.

Caveat:
Don’t treat automation as “done.” M&A means new gaps and new tech will always appear.

Quick-Reference: Workflow Automation Checklist for Post-M&A (BigCommerce Users)

• Complete workflow and system inventory (both orgs)
• Prioritize by impact/readiness, not politics
• Standardize data: SKUs, pricing, naming
• Decide core vs. sunset systems; integrate BigCommerce/ERP/CRM
• Pilot automation in one workflow first
• Engage stakeholders, address culture openly, appoint champions
• Use feedback tools (Zigpoll, Typeform) to track pain points
• Monitor KPIs weekly, iterate on issues fast
• Schedule regular audits; automation is ongoing

Signs It's Working

• Order cycle times shrink (target: 20-30% faster within 3-6 months)
• Fewer manual data corrections (track in BigCommerce’s dashboard: <1% orders need manual fix)
• Field and sales teams report fewer delays in handling quotes and orders
• Consistent data across BigCommerce, ERP, and CRM—one version of the truth
• Adoption rates stay high (check with Zigpoll after every phase)
• Less firefighting after each acquisition

Summary Table: What To Watch At Each Stage

Automation post-acquisition is a relay, not a sprint. Stick to phased rollouts, communicate openly, and let BigCommerce be your integration backbone. Track everything, fix what breaks, and keep simplifying. This approach builds buy-in, saves time, and gives you a repeatable playbook for the next deal—because there’s always a next one.