BB News, Industry Insight, Private Equity
For many private equity backed businesses, ERP transformation sits firmly at the centre of the value creation plan. Whether the goal is scaling quickly, integrating acquisitions, improving financial reporting, or preparing for exit, ERP programmes are now seen as strategic investments rather than simple IT upgrades.
However, despite significant investment in platforms and global system integrators, many ERP programmes still struggle to deliver the outcomes businesses expect. Timelines slip, costs increase, and organisations can find themselves dependent on external partners long after the system goes live.
In our experience working with businesses going through these programmes, the issue is rarely the technology itself. More often, it comes down to leadership on the client side.
System integrators bring huge value to ERP programmes. They provide delivery frameworks, implementation experience, and the technical capability needed to configure and deploy complex systems.
The challenge arises when the programme becomes driven primarily by the vendor rather than the business.
Without strong internal leadership, decisions can start to prioritise system configuration over operational outcomes. In other words, the focus becomes getting the system live rather than ensuring it genuinely supports how the business needs to operate and grow.
This is where the Programme Director becomes critical.
Within a private equity portfolio company, the Programme Director plays a very specific role. They act as the strategic counterpart to the system integrator and ensure the programme stays aligned with the broader investment thesis.
That means keeping the programme focused on the outcomes that really matter, such as:
Supporting future growth
Enabling acquisition integration
Improving financial visibility
Building scalable operational processes
Supporting the eventual exit strategy
A strong Programme Director also establishes clear governance, manages stakeholders across the organisation and the private equity sponsor, and ensures the business maintains control of key decisions throughout the programme.
Put simply, they keep the programme focused on value creation rather than just system delivery.
Another common challenge we see is organisations assuming the Programme Director alone will carry the transformation.
In reality, successful ERP programmes rely on a broader client side capability that works alongside the integrator.
This typically includes expertise across:
Programme management
Functional business leads
Enterprise architecture
Data and reporting leadership
Change and transformation management
Without this capability internally, businesses often become heavily reliant on the SI to fill these roles.
While system integrators are essential delivery partners, their incentives do not always fully align with the long term operational priorities of the business. Having the right internal or interim specialists in place allows organisations to challenge decisions, manage vendors effectively, and retain ownership of critical design choices.
For private equity backed businesses, this client side capability acts as a protective layer during transformation.
It ensures the organisation remains firmly in control of the programme while still benefiting from the expertise and delivery capability of the system integrator.
The most successful ERP programmes we see are those where the business builds a strong leadership and delivery structure around the programme from the outset. Often this involves bringing in experienced interim leaders who have delivered similar programmes before and understand the pace and pressure of a PE environment.
An ERP programme is not successful simply because the system goes live.
The real measure of success is whether it improves how the business operates, supports growth, and creates long term value for the organisation and its investors.
By appointing the right Programme Director and building a strong client side delivery team, private equity portfolio companies give themselves the best chance of turning ERP transformation into a genuine strategic advantage.
At Broster Buchanan, we regularly support private equity backed organisations in securing experienced ERP transformation leaders, from Programme Directors through to specialist interim delivery talent. If your organisation is planning an ERP programme or needs additional expertise to strengthen the client side team, our specialists would be happy to help.
