Building the system is rarely the hardest part of an international programme. Getting dozens of countries or plants to use it, on time and in the same way, is. These are the habits that made the difference in the roll-outs our consultants have led.
Choose a representative pilot, not the easiest one
A pilot that goes smoothly because it is the simplest site teaches you little. Pick one that carries the typical constraints: a second language, a local integration, a demanding business owner. Its problems are the ones the next twenty sites will have.
Group waves by similarity
Waves work best when the countries in them share what drives effort: the same regulation, language, ERP version or business model. A wave of similar sites lets one team reuse the same training, test cases and cut-over plan.
Key users are the real roll-out team
In every site, name and train key users early. They run local acceptance, train colleagues and are the first line of support after go-live. Their availability is a planning constraint, not a detail: secure it with local management before the wave starts.
Plan with real calendars
Europe works Monday to Friday; most GCC countries work Sunday to Thursday, and the UAE moved to a Monday-to-Friday week in 2022. That leaves four shared working days in many Europe–Gulf programmes. Add public holidays that follow the lunar calendar, and reduced working hours during Ramadan in several Gulf countries, and a go-live date chosen in Paris can land on a bad week in Doha. Build these calendars into the plan from day one.
Decide with go/no-go criteria agreed in advance
Before each wave, agree the criteria that allow go-live: acceptance completed, blocking defects closed, key users trained, support ready. The decision then becomes a check, not a negotiation, and nobody is surprised.
After go-live, measure adoption, not just availability. A system that is up but bypassed is not deployed.
General information, not legal or professional advice. Check current rules with counsel in each jurisdiction.
