vertical integration

noun [U] (also vertical amalgamation, also vertical combination) ECONOMICS, MANAGEMENT

Definition

› (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.