Core system renewals rarely fail because the technology itself does not work. More often, they fail because the business change they set out to achieve never fully happens. At Gofore’s Leading Change event on 21 May 2026, one message rose above the rest: ERP is not an IT project. It is a business transformation – and it needs to be led that way.
During the event, Anne Silvennoinen from SOK and Laura Sipiläinen, Saara Lehmuskoski and Riikka Halonen from Gofore shared their perspectives on ERP transformations. Here are five lessons every core system renewal project should keep in mind.
1. Keep business goals visible – don’t let the project become just an IT implementation
In many organizations, a project begins as a strategic business transformation but gradually turns into a technical implementation. The focus shifts from objectives to systems, from value to specifications, and from people to features. As was aptly said during the event: “A business-owned project turns into an IT project overnight.” When that happens, the most important question can easily get lost: what are we really trying to change?
According to Gartner, around 70% of ERP projects fall short of their business goals. One key reason is that goals are defined at the beginning but not revisited as understanding grows. Yet the project context evolves, and so should the goals. They need to be managed like a project plan: reviewed, updated and refined continuously, rather than fixed too early.
Alongside business goals, organizations also need to make sure they genuinely understand what decisions are being made about – especially in the early stages. Too often, choices are made based on assumptions before the problem or the alternatives are understood well enough. Mature decision-making also means being willing to say out loud when understanding is still incomplete. Recognizing uncertainty does not slow a project down – it helps prevent the wrong decisions.
2. Ensure genuine business ownership – it shows in decisions, prioritization and resourcing
In an ERP transformation, ownership is not a role on paper – it is visible in day-to-day actions. Too often, responsibility for developing core systems ends up with IT, even though IT cannot and should not own the change alone. When ownership stays with IT, prioritization tends to lean towards technical needs, decision-making slows down, and business commitment remains superficial.
As Anne Silvennoinen from SOK put it: “An ERP change is not an IT project – the business must be a real and active owner of the change.” In successful projects, leadership makes choices, stands behind them and ensures the right resources are in place to support transformation. Ownership is reflected in everyday management, not in the organization chart.
3. Describe the change in everyday terms – what needs to happen differently tomorrow
“Our processes will become more efficient” is not enough to describe change. It is an abstract promise, not guidance for action. For people, change is much more concrete:
- What will I do differently tomorrow?
- What will change in my role?
- What do I need to give up?
Without that level of concreteness, people do not fully understand the change – and are more likely to fall back on familiar ways of working. System training gives people the skills to use the system, but it does not explain how everyday work will change. Ideally, people should understand what is changing in the flow of daily work before system training begins. Putting those changes into words is not always easy. It often takes iteration and collaboration across teams, but the effort pays off. Change does not happen when it is announced or even when the system goes live – it happens when people genuinely start working differently in their daily lives.
4. Lead change like you lead a business – set direction, measure and respond
Change management is not a communications plan or a one-off campaign. It is the continuous planning and leadership of how change is put into practice. Throughout the project, the key questions remain the same:
- Do people understand why the change is being made?
- Do they know what they need to do differently?
- Are they getting enough support?
The purpose of change management is above all to identify and manage people-related risks. The best projects listen actively, measure people’s experiences, analyze the insights those measurements provide, and target support where it is needed most. In a long ERP program, the biggest risk is often not technical – it is that people never truly change the way they work.
5. Make sure new ways of working actually take root – that is where value is created
A core system renewal can be a complete technical success and still fail from a business perspective. The reason is simple: value is only created when people adopt new processes and make them part of everyday work. As was said during the event, “The benefits of a change project will not materialize until people start working in a new way.” That is why successful ERP is not only about delivery or implementation – it is about an organization’s ability to operate differently after implementation, too.
If there is one thought worth carrying into the next project, it is this: ERP is not an IT investment. It is a business transformation, and its success is ultimately decided in everyday work – not on go-live day.
What is the CEO’s role in an ERP transformation?
In this episode of GoforeTalk podcast, we discuss how a CEO can have a significant impact on the success of an ERP programme. Our guest is Ed Santamaria, CEO of Normet Group, who shares his experiences of leading a large-scale business transformation and restarting a major ERP initiative. This episode is conducted in English.
