Context
Life sciences companies are facing numerous macro and micro events that are impacting their business. Stricter regulations on pricing, limited patent extensions and patent exclusivity, higher complexity treatments such as mRNA and biologics, higher costs across the business, and entry from tech companies are just a few of the challenges these companies face. In fact, 60% of drug approvals in 2021 came from small companies, indicating increased competition across the ecosystem. Furthermore, losing out on an acquisition to a direct competitor or private equity firm can have significant consequences for these companies.
As a result, life sciences companies are looking to expand their current pipeline by seeking outside opportunities through acquisitions, collaborative partnerships, out-licensing, and hiring and retaining talent. However, the acquisition process is expensive, time-consuming, and can divert focus away from operating and innovating. With an average timeline of 10 months, it can be a significant diversion for the company.
To mitigate these challenges, a unified shared platform can accelerate time to value, de-risk the acquisition process, and provide access to a team rich with talent. ServiceNow can directly impact the acquisition process and improve efficiency, leading to cost savings and synergies for the company.
High Level Steps in an Acquisition
There are two high-level phases of an acquisition process: pre-acquisition and post-acquisition, each with its own set of activities. The pre-acquisition phase includes due diligence and planning, contract negotiations, and legal documentation. The post-acquisition phase includes people, technology, and financials. Additionally, there are overarching activities that include regulatory compliance, supplier relationships, and an M&A playbook.
ServiceNow's Impact on the Acquisition Process
While the pre-acquisition steps are rarely repeatable and therefore difficult for technology to assist, technology plays a significant role in the post-acquisition and overarching activities. ServiceNow can support these activities and provide a unified platform for the company to streamline the acquisition process.
I have included a visual representation of these steps above and which steps ServiceNow have impacted and can directly impact your next acquisition process. Additionally, I have also included the value perspectives of how much you can anticipate to save with our solution as well.
Please note that while we provide a high-level overview of how ServiceNow can support your acquisition process, the solution mapping is best reserved for a separate engagement with our experts. We encourage you to reach out to your client director if you are interested in learning more about how ServiceNow can help your organization streamline its acquisition process.
Overall, by leveraging ServiceNow's unified platform, companies can reduce the time and cost of the acquisition process and ensure that all necessary tasks are completed efficiently.
Conclusion and Next Steps
To conclude, I would like to leave you with a few questions to consider:
- Which processes stick out from a previous M&A that resulted in a bad experience or inefficiency? What could have been done differently to improve the outcome?
- Are there processes you can adjust to put an additional emphasis on acquisitions? How can you prioritize acquisition activities within your organization?
- What could we have done differently – how can we be more agile and efficient to support the business? How can technology and automation help streamline the acquisition process and enable the organization to focus on operating and innovating?
By taking the time to reflect on these questions and considering the role of technology in the acquisition process, companies can improve their M&A strategies and ensure a successful outcome.
Please reach out to your Client Director to further discuss about how you and your team(s) can align to business objectives and outcomes like M&A with a strategic platform like ServiceNow.
