Practitioner Due Diligence After A ProcureTech M&A

Here is the link to my previous post – How Practitioner Clients Can Avoid The Pitfalls Of A ProcureTech Acquisition.

Post-Acquisition Due Diligence Checklist (ProcureTech Vendor)

1. Strategic Alignment & Vision

• Has the product roadmap changed post-acquisition? If so, how?
• Will the vendor’s solution remain a standalone product or be merged into a larger platform?
• Are there guarantees of continued investment in the original solution?
• Will the company name, leadership team, or branding change?

2. Customer Success & Support Continuity

• Will your customer success manager or point of contact remain the same?
• Are support SLAs or escalation paths changing?
• Will customer support teams or contact centers be consolidated or outsourced?
• How will customer feedback be handled moving forward?

3. Pricing & Contract Terms

• Will pricing, billing cycles, or renewal terms change in the next 12 months?
• Is there a plan to move to bundled pricing with the parent company’s products?
• Will any existing discounts, credits, or negotiated rates be affected?

4. Product Roadmap & Innovation

• Will features previously promised still be delivered on the same timeline?
• Are any modules being deprecated, rewritten, or repackaged?
• What is the innovation plan under the new ownership?

5. Integration & Platform Impact

• Will APIs, connectors, or integration methods be maintained or changed?
• Are there plans to move your data or operations to a new infrastructure or cloud environment?
• Will your vendor’s product remain ERP-agnostic or platform-neutral?

6. Data Security, Privacy & Governance

• Will your data remain stored and processed in the same regions?
• Have there been any changes in the data security policy or compliance certifications (e.g., ISO 27001, SOC 2)?
• Has the new parent company conducted a security audit or data migration plan?

7. Risk, Stability & Contingency Planning

• Are there any upcoming changes that may affect product stability or availability?
• What is the parent company’s track record with past acquisitions (integration success/failure)?
• What happens if the product is sunset in the next 1–3 years? (Any exit clauses?)

8. Communication & Transparency

• Will your vendor continue to share release notes, product updates, and roadmap visibility?
• Has the company communicated the acquisition clearly and openly?
• What forums exist for customer Q&A or feedback post-acquisition?

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Additional (And Important) Due Diligence:

Request a formal customer assurance letter or FAQ deck from the vendor outlining product roadmap stability focusing on the following three areas:

• Transition impact
• Customer protection commitments
• Key personnel retention

Here is why the above areas – which are interrelated, are important:

The three areas ranked by impact post-ProcureTech M&A are:

1. Transition Impact: Most impacted due to its immediate operational and client-facing consequences, driving the high M&A failure rate (70-90%).
2. Key Personnel Retention: Second most impacted, with talent loss threatening innovation and long-term value in a tech-heavy field.
3. Customer Protection Commitments: Least impacted, as it’s a downstream effect, though still significant for retention.

For ProcureTech providers, Transition Impact is the critical battleground—successful integration preserves ROI (e.g., 7,849% over 10 years, prior response), while failures cascade into personnel and customer issues. Key personnel retention follows closely, ensuring sustained capability, with customer commitments as a vital but less acute concern unless grossly mishandled. This aligns with broader M&A challenges and ProcureTech’s reliance on seamless execution.

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Does this look like a question mark?