As we entered 2025, fme’s leadership reached out to our connections working in consumer products industries to discuss their top-level concerns for the coming year and beyond. Some were our clients in past transformation initiatives, and others are industry experts that have been leading discussions on emerging digital strategies for many years. We specifically focused our interviews on experienced executives that have been working R&D departments for 20-30 years or more. These leaders have been through several technology transition cycles, so they have seen, heard, and worked through the adoption of ‘hot new solutions’ and experienced both the triumphs and frustrations that came with each.

The points below are from one of our conversations with an executive with 30+ years working at a personal care company with over €10 Billion revenue a year. Through their career in product development, portfolio management, regulatory compliance and more, they gained an extensive understanding of the value, requirements and issues that IT and operations teams face both day-to-day, and over extended timeframes. We heard similar comments in several of these interviews, and have been hearing the same from our long-time clients in the highly regulated pharmaceutical, finance, and manufacturing industries.

Common Challenge and Limitations

This is just a high-level preview; if you’d like a deeper discussion or want to share your perspective, reach out using the contact form below. We look forward to connecting and exchanging insights.

Data Silos and Platform Integration

This should come as no surprise to anyone working with digital technology over the last 20 years and will most likely continue to be an issue for the next 20. Every company has disconnected repositories of data that have accumulated over years of work and internal initiatives. Some are still effective and valuable, and some are less important to today’s business strategies. Historic data can still be useful and frequently is required for compliance but may be stored in legacy systems and formats that aren’t aligned with modern solution formats and data structures. As repositories age, it becomes increasingly difficult to determine which information should be archived, and which should be migrated for use with new tools.

IT & System Infrastructure Conflicts

Every business has multiple IT systems that are the backbone of daily business. ERP systems for operations, communication and document applications like Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, R&D infrastructure, as well as quality and possibly clinical platforms and more. In a large company, these applications have a long history of use and evolution of processes. Some are too deeply embedded to be easily replaced by a full-suite solution, and others are not built to serve the unique needs of the consumer products industry. They may get close, but can still fall short in critical areas, requiring additional integration work.

Increasing Global Regulations

Across the globe, there are an increasing catalog of regulations and requirements that consumer products companies must prove compliance. It’s essential to manage the requirements that apply within individual regions as individual products travel through their manufacturing, distribution, sale and use by the consumer. Each company needs to understand their unique needs, and ensure they select systems that can support their business processes.

Migrating Data Requires Migration Experts

Selecting and implementing a new tool or platform requires a deep and detailed knowledge of the data, metadata, and structures of the legacy data. Firms often plan to utilize their in-house IT team for migrations, assuming they will have complete knowledge of existing repositories, but from our experience, that is rarely the case. Few in-house engineers have been involved in the set-up and maintenance of every digital tool that has been used in a company’s history, and even fewer have a detailed understanding of the daily processes, workflows and workarounds that have evolved to meet business goals. AI-powered solutions are showing promise, but they still need detailed verification to ensure complete accuracy and minimize risks of compliance issues.

Best-of-Breed vs Full-Suite Solutions

The final challenge that many consumer products firms face is whether to take a modular, best-of-breed approach, or to invest in a complete digital transformation to full-suite solution. This is a challenging decision since it is difficult to have clear and complete details on company-wide processes and workflows and their accompanying data and documents. As mentioned above, it is common to have IT and system infrastructure conflicts that can limit or completely prevent the integration of data that would allow the removal of a legacy solution, or the adoption of a new full-suite platform.

How fme Supports Consumer Product Migrations

Despite the above challenges, there is exceptional value and ROI to be gained by taking advantage of the power and features of modern technology solutions. To be sure, they are not simply doing the same old tasks with a different colored button; they are faster, more efficient, and have advanced capabilities that were not considered 10 years ago but have become a requirement to stay competitive in today’s market. This is where fme’s proven methodologies, industry expertise, and advanced tools are invaluable. Through our 30 years of migrating business-critical data in the most complex and highly regulated industries, we have an unparalleled understanding of the deep-level connections and data requirements that fuel any information management platform. When partnering with fme for the migration of your data and documents you get: 

• Proven Track Record: fme has successfully completed complex data migrations for leading companies in complex, highly regulated industries like life sciences and consumer goods, demonstrating reliability and expertise.

• Industry-Specific Knowledge: fme understands the unique data challenges in the cosmetic industry, including regulatory requirements, proprietary formulations, and supply chain complexities.

• Advanced Technology: fme leverages cutting-edge migration accelerators that automate critical tasks, ensuring accuracy and efficiency.

• Collaborative Approach: fme works closely with your team throughout the migration process, providing clear communication on our best practices and how they can be incorporated into your migration journey. We also proactively advise on additional ways to de-risk your program when applicable.

• Focus on Quality and Compliance: Every migration is executed with a focus on preserving data integrity, ensuring compliance, and achieving business objectives.

Contact Us to Discuss Your Challenges

We understand that every business faces its own set of challenges and requirements. As the leading migration solution partner with hundreds of successful projects, we have deep expertise in recognizing the pitfalls and opportunities that can make or break a digital transformation initiative. Reach out today to discuss your challenges and goals. Let’s work together to ensure a smooth, successful migration: one that maximizes the value of your business platforms and sets you up for long-term success.

About the Author – Ian Crone

Global Life Science Leader | Innovator | Inspirational Team Builder | Mentor | UDI & Medical Device Expert | IDMP | Data Migration

Ian Crone is an industry expert with over 17 years of experience in the cosmetic industry—from the laboratory bench to global manufacturing operations. With a proven track record of delivering success across the entire product lifecycle, his scope of understanding seamlessly bridges innovative R&D with large-scale production. Recognized as a thought leader in Regulatory Information Management (RIM), Unique Device Identification (UDI), and IDMP standards, Ian excels at navigating complex regulatory landscapes while driving strategic, compliant solutions.

Drawing on extensive experience in the cosmetic sector, Ian has honed expertise in selecting and implementing cutting-edge systems that ensure operational excellence and full regulatory alignment. As a seasoned data migration expert, Ian has led high-stakes initiatives that optimize processes and safeguard data integrity. Known for his ability to mentor and inspire global teams, he is dedicated to delivering innovative, client-centric solutions that yield measurable impact. Whether driving regulatory compliance, streamlining operations, or managing global teams, Ian is committed to excellence and innovation that make a tangible difference for his clients.

In today’s business environment, mergers and acquisitions have become increasingly frequent. Large and medium size corporations acquire firms for many reasons: to expand their markets, enter new markets, or minimize their competition. Once the financial deal is done, the real work of bringing together disparate companies, cultures, and content begins, and it’s not for the faint of heart. Mergers and acquisitions create substantial risks, many with steep financial consequences for all parties involved if they are handled incorrectly. Below are some of the challenges fme has encountered in our projects, some specific examples, as well as strategies we have used to ensure our clients’ success after the dust settles.

Common Challenges in Mergers and Acquisitions

Every merger or acquisition is a complex challenge to combine the people, processes, technology, and content from two or more sources. The way data is saved, naming conventions, and base data structures can all be vastly different, and scaled into large volumes of data, the entire project can quickly become a technical nightmare. Here are a few of the frequent high-level challenges we’ve encountered:

• Cultural and organizational differences
• Legacy system data volume and scale
• Decommissioning timeline of legacy systems
• Differing data structures between legacy and target system
• Data security and compliance during migration
• Content and metadata extraction limitations (i.e., throttling) in legacy systems

Another common situation: the technical teams and subject matter experts that know the legacy systems, data, and document history may not be entirely cooperative, may be leaving the company too soon, or are already completely unavailable.

Critical Risks during Mergers and Acquisitions

The challenges above combined with the human issues and attitudes during the process can be amplified to create substantial financial and organizational risks during a platform consolidation project:

• Compromised data security and non-compliance – Data breaches and non-compliance with industry regulations and data protection laws can lead to legal actions, fines, and penalties imposed by regulatory authorities. This can result in substantial financial costs, reputation damage, or even suspension or revocation of regulatory approvals for pharmaceutical products. In some cases, compromised data security during a merger can result in data breaches and the exposure of sensitive patient and clinical trial information, leading to privacy violations, identity theft, and additional legal liabilities. Ultimately, if not adequately overseen during a merger migration project, there is a risk of intellectual property being compromised or stolen.
• Data loss or corruption during migration – fme is frequently called in to repair this issue. A poor system migration and consolidation strategy can lead to the loss of critical intellectual property, proprietary information, and trade secrets, harming an organization’s competitive advantage. If critical data is unavailable, it can also disrupt normal business operations, leading to downtime and productivity loss. Data inconsistencies can affect data accuracy and reliability in the new target environment. The effort to recover from a poor migration can become a costly resource drain; complex data loss requires significant time, effort, and resources, diverting attention from other critical business goals.
• Incomplete data migration – Incomplete data migration may result in data gaps and inconsistencies that affect data integrity and quality. It can also result in non-compliance with regulatory authorities leading to fines, legal actions, and damage to the organization’s reputation. In highly regulated Life Sciences industries like pharmaceutical development and manufacturing, the risks escalate to delayed drug development, inaccurate reporting to authorities, or incorrect research findings. Missing or outdated patient and clinical trial data can potentially affect the safety and efficacy of drugs and treatments, creating real-world risks to patients and potential product recalls. Regulatory agencies routinely conduct audits and inspections, and an incomplete data migration can lead to audit findings and increased scrutiny from regulators.

It’s understandable to view some of the risks outlined as overly severe or as worst-case scenarios that rarely occur. However, our team at fme has extensive experience and, regrettably, we have witnessed each of these scenarios unfold. Conversely, it’s important to recognize that these challenges and risks can be effectively managed with a thorough understanding of the scope and requirements involved in a complex merger and acquisition project.

fme Strategies for Success during Mergers and Acquisitions

fme leverages many strategies to eliminate the challenges above and minimize the risks during merger and acquisition migrations. Here are some that we employ to ensure our clients’ success:

• Systematic, proven processes – fme has an exceptional team of highly talented and experienced data migration experts. We’ve been doing this for over 20 years for the largest regulated and non-regulated firms on the planet. We have developed a clear set of proven steps to define client requirements, and then to classify, migrate, and validate all information to ensure it is available in the target solution.
• Overcoming data volume and scale – Migrating substantial data volumes in most mergers and acquisitions presents a major challenge. fme overcomes this challenge by leveraging our proprietary data migration solution migration-center. First of its kind on the market, we specifically designed this unique tool to easily scale for large and small data volumes being migrated between an extensive range of source and target platforms. For example, for a global pharmaceutical company that acquired two biotech firms, fme successfully migrated into production ~2 million document objects with 18 TB of content within a 5-month project timeline. Learn more about migration-center here >>
• Data Security and Compliance – Data security and integrity are paramount across all fme project teams. We conduct thorough risk assessments and implement robust data protection measures and access controls throughout the migration lifecycle. Internally and externally, we adhere to the highest security standards to ensure our clients’ data is controlled and protected from end to end.
• Data loss and corruption during migration – To mitigate the consequences of data loss/corruption during migration, fme employs proven data migration best practices from hundreds of previous migrations. In each project, we conduct thorough incremental and phased testing before a production cut over migration. Once the migration is complete, we execute comprehensive tests to verify the production data is the correct, complete data.

Each migration is unique and comes with its own set of obstacles and surprises. Over hundreds of successful projects, we’ve developed and proven a clear set of strategies, processes, and checkpoints that ensure success in any merger and acquisition migration initiative. The key is to understand the details so small issues don’t grow into giant problems.

Conclusion

Data migration during mergers and acquisitions involves complex, varied challenges. The significance of the data increases the likelihood of consequential mistakes, and the task of integrating different systems while ensuring data integrity, adherence to regulations, and security becomes highly demanding.

fme excels in intricate environments with our detailed planning and a strong technological migration structure. Through our experience, we are equipped to handle data complexities with unique proficiency and recognize both the challenges and opportunities for improvement in merger and acquisition migrations. This approach uncovers new possibilities and untapped value in content libraries. We consistently achieve successful outcomes, maximizing the value of our clients’ technology investments.

Contact fme about your Merger and Acquisition Challenges

Contact us to start your discussion on how to minimize the risks in your next merger and acquisition data consolidation. fme’s team of experts can help you plan your roadmap before your team gets lost in a forest of frustration and delays. From the most effective platforms to efficient data schemas, fme has a clear path that unites your newly combined people, processes, and technology for organizational success.