Defining production management core applications for smaller businesses

Abstract The principal (core) production management applications in which the computer could be used in smaller companies are identified. The order in which different components of a general purpose production management package should be developed is specified. An analysis of data from a survey of the production management systems either used by or required by small companies, essentially involved the complete enumeration of all possibilities. Whether existing computer users, non users, or both groups were considered, the same set of five applications emerged as those to be developed first. If insufficient resources are available to develop all five applications, a sensitivity analysis of a four core solution is also presented.