Companies need to merge their marketing and sales functions or risk stunting their bottom line growth, says a report by the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

The institute predicts that separate sales and marketing departments will disappear by next decade, in its report entitled Marketing and Sales Fusion.

It believes companies bringing the two departments together will see improvements in productivity and reductions in wastage and duplication.

It adds: "Those that continue to treat them as independent entities will appear out of touch and pay a high price in loss of business opportunities."

http://www.cim.co.uk/resources/emergingthemes/msfusion.aspx