vertical integration
noun [ U ]
ECONOMICS, MANAGEMENT ukus(also vertical amalgamation); (also vertical combination) (also vertical merger)
a situation where a company buys companies that are its suppliers and customers, taking over more stages of an industrial or commercial process:
Mobile phone companies are becoming more powerful through vertical integration.
the degree to which a company carries out the different stages in an industrial or commercial process, rather than depending on outside suppliers and customers:
In recent years, there are increasing number of Hong Kong manufacturers adopting a strategy of vertical integration to enhance value-added content to their products.
Compare
horizontal integration
See also
backward integration
forward integration
vertical disintegration