The Merger Moment: Transforming Clinical Trial Operations During Site Consolidation

Imagine kicking off the new year by combining two midwestern-based leaders in healthcare to create a system with over 50,000 employees. That’s just what Sanford Health and Marshfield Clinic Health System did earlier this year. In the world of clinical research, mergers aren’t just a business headline—they’re an inflection point for transformation. Whether it’s an academic medical center joining forces with a regional hospital network, or two research-focused community hospitals aligning for greater scale, mergers are moments of reinvention. But they’re also a time of friction: multiple systems, conflicting templates, and institutional knowledge scattered across teams.

That’s why we believe a merger is not just a good time—but the best time—to adopt The Contract Network (TCN). With clinical trial agreement negotiations typically taking 2-3 months, merger transitions can extend these timelines even further without the right infrastructure. Here’s why implementing TCN during your merger creates immediate and lasting value:

1. Unify and Standardize Contracting Across the New Entity

Mergers bring together multiple contracting procedures that must be reconciled quickly. TCN helps newly merged organizations unify their contracting workflows under a single collaborative platform that adapts to your preferred processes rather than forcing rigid standardization. With a shared approach to clinical trial agreements, sites can eliminate duplication, reduce confusion, and present sponsors with a consistent, professional contracting experience from day one of the new entity.

2. Preserve—and Leverage—Negotiation History

When teams consolidate, valuable negotiation history often remains trapped in individual email accounts or departmental systems. TCN’s intelligent repository is built to retain, organize, and reuse prior agreement terms and redline outcomes across your entire newly merged organization. The platform preserves every negotiation win, sponsor-specific concession, and strategic decision—ensuring your expanded team builds on past successes rather than repeating resolved issues.

3. Accelerate Startup Across a Larger Trial Portfolio

Post-merger growth substantially expands your trial portfolio, creating immediate pressure to scale operations. TCN demonstrably shrinks negotiation timelines through data-driven workflows, template reuse, and transparent communication. For a merged site, this acceleration means the ability to activate multiple trials efficiently while your teams are still integrating—meeting or exceeding sponsor timelines while preserving precious internal bandwidth during the transition.

4. Create Clarity and Coordination During Transition

In the midst of post-merger change—when staff turnover increases and role ambiguity peaks—teams need systems that create immediate clarity. TCN provides real-time visibility into contract status, clear task assignments based on skills rather than titles, and a centralized source of truth accessible to all authorized team members. As internal roles shift and responsibilities are redefined, TCN’s structured workflow ensures nothing falls through the cracks, reducing missed deadlines and miscommunication during this critical transition period.

5. Signal Operational Maturity to Sponsors

Adopting TCN during a merger isn’t just a back-office upgrade—it’s a strategic market signal that differentiates your site. While many organizations experience post-merger contracting inefficiency, TCN users demonstrate immediate operational continuity. This visible commitment to process excellence tells sponsors that your newly expanded site is positioned to execute trials with consistency and professionalism. In an environment where sponsors consistently cite contracting delays as a reason for site exclusion, operational excellence during transitions creates a sustainable competitive advantage.

From Merger Complexity to Operational Excellence

A merger presents a rare strategic opportunity—a moment when organizational change is not just accepted but expected. Forward-thinking research leaders use this transition to implement modern solutions like The Contract Network, establishing best practices that might face resistance during business-as-usual periods. The result? Research sites that don’t just survive the transition but emerge stronger—contracting with confidence, collaborating with purpose, and accelerating the future of care through more efficient trial activation.

Ready to transform your merger into a contracting advantage? Schedule a 30-minute consultation with our team to see how The Contract Network can preserve and enhance your contracting momentum during consolidation.