The Successful Implementation of Application Software in New Production Systems

We conducted an empirical study in 18 manufacturing companies, interviewing 24 managers. Our findings suggest that to improve the successful implementation of manufacturing software, managers (1) should encourage direct interchange between software producers (in-house programmers or vendors) and the users (production personnel); (2) should support the ultimate users (production units) before, during, and after the implementation of manufacturing software rather than concentrate on measuring the productivity of software producers; (3) should concentrate on software implementation carefully and set clear and feasible policies on acquisition and utilization of application software.