Enterprise support systems

Most enterprises are striving to become more productive, competitive, and innovative. A central element of achieving this goal is the ways in which they support themselves in terms of processes and infrastructure. The experiences of working with these enterprises, as well as an integration of much contemporary thinking in management and innovation, has led to the development of an integrated set of methodologies for new product planning and strategic business planning, as well as methods for enabling companies to understand and change their organizational cultures to facilitate implementation of their plans. Integration of the these concepts, principles, methods, and tools results in an enterprise support system (ESS). This paper outlines the structure and components of ESS, as well as the rationale for these systems. Numerous actual case studies are used to illustrate the nature and benefits of this concept.<>