Bridging the ERP alignment gap between finance, operations, and IT

As digital transformations continue to reshape every sector in today’s business world, investing in a worthy ERP system, such as IFS Cloud™, is often one of the most strategic decisions an organisation can make. Yet, despite the technology’s capabilities, many ERP projects underperform or fail to deliver the expected value. One common reason? A lack of alignment between the requirements of the CFO, COO, and the IT Manager.

That’s where we at Platned can help you.

The misalignment challenge

When each department views ERP implementation through its own lens, disconnects quickly emerge. CFOs focus on financial control, compliance, and ROI. They want visibility, reporting accuracy, and cost predictability. COOs prioritise operational efficiency, process improvement, and scalability. They need systems that streamline workflows and improve productivity. IT Managers focus on system performance, integrations, and long-term maintainability. They’re concerned with technical architecture, data security, and support.

All are valid perspectives, but without a shared understanding of business objectives and process interdependencies, ERP implementations often become a tug-of-war of competing priorities. The result? Delays, rework, cost overruns, and poor user adoption.

So simply put, the reasons behind the misalignments are:

• Different success metrics: Finance measures ROI, operations measure efficiency, IT measures system uptime.
• Siloed decision-making: Each department leads its own requirements without a unified roadmap.
• Insufficient process visibility: Legacy systems and undocumented workflows make it hard to see end-to-end process impacts.
• Underestimation of change management: ERP transformation is as much about people and process as it is about technology.

How to untangle the mess

At Platned, we believe successful ERP transformation starts with alignment before implementation.

Here’s how we help organisations overcome this common challenge:

1. Business process mapping first
   Our team conducts comprehensive business process mapping workshops to visualise how each function such as finance, operations, supply chain, projects, connects across the enterprise. This ensures every stakeholder understands the “big picture” and where IFS Cloud adds the most value.
2. Unified requirement framework
   We create a cross-functional requirement blueprint that aligns CFO, COO, and IT priorities. This approach ensures that business outcomes, not departmental silos, drive the ERP design.
3. Expert ERP knowledge
   As an experienced IFS partner, Platned brings deep knowledge of industry best practices and IFS Cloud’s capabilities. We help bridge the gap between what’s technically possible and what’s operationally necessary.
4. Stakeholder alignment sessions
   We facilitate joint workshops to align executive expectations early, ensuring finance, operations, and IT speak the same language when defining project success.
5. Change enablement
   ERP transformation impacts people and processes. Our change management and user adoption framework ensures teams embrace new ways of working instead of resisting them.

When alignment comes first, ERP implementation becomes a true business transformation journey, not just a system upgrade.

With Platned’s structured approach, organisations gain clarity, reduce risk, and achieve faster time-to-value from their investment.