How a remote ERP implementation works across time zones
How LITPL runs discovery, configuration, data migration, training, and go-live remotely for clients in Africa and India, and what your team needs to prepare.
Agree the working window first
LITPL's base window is 10:00 to 19:00 India Standard Time, which overlaps most of the African working day. The first thing we agree is a fixed overlap, usually three to four hours, in which workshops, reviews, and support calls happen.
Outside that window, work continues asynchronously: configuration, data checks, and documentation on our side; data collection and testing on yours. A shared WhatsApp group and a simple task list keep both sides aligned.
Discovery over screen share, with your real documents
Discovery sessions run over video calls with screen sharing. You show the current process using real documents: an order, a container file, an invoice, a stock report. We map the process, note exceptions, and confirm what the system must produce.
The output is a written scope with the workflows, records, reports, and integrations agreed, plus a list of open questions. Nothing is configured until this is signed off.
Data migration and testing in your hours
Master data and opening balances are prepared in templates we provide, reviewed together, and loaded into a test company. Your users run representative transactions during the overlap window while we watch and adjust.
Testing is repeated until the agreed acceptance transactions pass. Training is recorded so users who join later, or work a different shift, can watch it in their own time.
Go-live and support
Go-live can be fully remote or supported on site, depending on the number of users and locations. For a yard or plant with many users, an on-site presence for the first days is usually worth the cost.
After go-live, support continues through WhatsApp, email, and scheduled calls in the agreed window. A monthly review covers open issues, reports, and the next phase.
Worked example
A four-hour overlap that ran a whole implementation
A processor in West Africa and the LITPL team in India agreed a fixed overlap of 09:00 to 13:00 West Africa Time, which is 13:30 to 17:30 in India. Workshops, reviews, and testing happened in that window, three days a week. Configuration, data checks, and documentation happened on the LITPL side outside it; data collection and internal decisions happened on the client side outside it.
A shared WhatsApp group carried quick questions and screenshots; anything that needed tracking went into a simple task list reviewed every Monday. Training sessions were recorded, and the night-shift supervisor watched them the next day. Go-live was supported remotely, with one on-site visit for the plant walkthrough and the first two days of live posting.
Checklist before you decide
- A fixed overlap window of three to four hours, agreed in writing
- One coordinator on each side who owns the task list
- A stable connection and screen sharing for the key users
- Templates for master data and opening balances, with owners
- A test company your users can log into from day one
- Recorded training sessions for shift staff and later joiners
- A decision on which go-live days, if any, need someone on site
Questions we hear
Is remote implementation as reliable as on-site?
For discovery, configuration, training, and support, yes, and often faster because sessions are shorter and more frequent. On-site time is best spent on plant or yard walkthroughs and the first days of go-live.
What if our internet is unreliable?
Sessions are scheduled around known outages, recordings cover missed sessions, and the system can be hosted in a region with good connectivity to your site. Tell us the pattern and we plan for it.
How do you handle public holidays in two countries?
Both calendars go into the project plan at the start. It is a scheduling detail, not a risk, when it is known early.