What Finance, Operations, and IT All Want from an ERP (But Rarely Get)

Most businesses don’t realize their enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is falling short until everyday tasks start taking each department longer than they should. Not because the system is broken, but because it was designed for a simpler version of your business before distribution operations became more complex, fast-moving, and customer driven.

Across finance, operations and IT, the ERP challenges look different on the surface. In practice, they show up in very real issues throughout the day.

Finance: When Month-End Becomes a Daily Distraction

For many finance managers, the day starts the same way: running multiple reports just to understand where things stand throughout the business. AR aging comes from one report, AP from another and cash position from somewhere else entirely. Margin data may live in its own view, as well, and none of it connects automatically.

A recent Business Wire report shows that 70% of workers lose 20 hours a week to fragmented systems, and it’s not hard to see why when you look at an average daily finance workflow. To get a usable picture, employees must export every report to Excel before manually combining and reconciling. If the margin looks off, the only option is to run even more reports or email operations and sales for clarification. Any notes or communications are tracked outside the system, meaning that follow-ups live in inboxes, and nothing is centralized.

The result? Constant pressure. Not just at the end of the month but also every time leadership asks a question. It takes unnecessary time to find answers when information lives in multiple places, placing an undue burden on your finance team.

What finance actually wants in an ERP is simple: one place to see AR, AP, cash and margin together. Modern, advanced business management solutions built for distribution businesses put this information in one report and provide the ability to click straight into an invoice or transaction to investigate issues.

When reporting friction is removed, finance can stop firefighting and spend more time on what moves the business forward (forecasting, margin optimization, audit prep or other strategic tasks).

Operations: Discovering Problems Only After Customers Feel Them

Operations teams don’t struggle because they lack data, but because the data comes too late. A lack of real-time information is a costly limitation in distribution operations where inventory availability and delivery timing directly affect customer service.

A purchasing or inventory manager may notice low stock only after running an inventory report and manually comparing it to open purchase orders or supplier lead times from separate screens. Priority items are tracked in spreadsheets, and communications happen over email.

Sometimes, the warning signs are missed entirely until a customer order can’t be fulfilled! At that point, the problem is no longer internal. It’s a delayed shipment, a frustrated customer, or a rushed reorder that impacts your margins.

What operations teams need is early visibility into inventory levels, supplier performance, open POs and risk indicators in one place. Access to real-time data means that issues surface sooner without extra work. Teams can then act before these issues become customer-facing problems, protecting revenue and service at the same time.

IT: Keeping the System Running While the Business Grows

IT systems are often stuck maintaining legacy ERP systems that were never built to support today’s pace or complexity. Custom reports, bolt-ons and manual integrations accumulate over time. Each workaround solves a short-term problem but adds long-term fragility.

In addition, any reporting requests turn into one-off builds, updates feel risky, and documentation always lives in various desktop folders. Instead of enabling better workflows, IT becomes the safety net to ensure the system doesn’t fall over while the business tries to work around it.

IT needs an ERP that reduces complexity rather than adding to it. Modern solutions mean fewer customizations, cleaner data relationships, and reporting that users can manage themselves.

Different Roles, Same Core Need

Finance wants confidence in numbers (with reports that update themselves). Operations wants visibility before issues escalate. IT wants stability without constant workarounds. These three areas represent different roles, but the same core need: an ERP that serves as one source of truth and adapts to how the business actually runs day-to-day.

When all business data is both connected and actionable across departments, everyone can stop compensating for system gaps and start making better decisions together.

If you’re starting to question whether your current systems are holding teams back, we’re here to talk through what modern ERP for distributors makes possible. Contact Klipboard today to learn how organizations like yours are rethinking reporting, visibility and day-to-day workflows.