IT tools for communication in multi-site manufacturing firms

Abstract

For manufacturing firms competing and operating globally, the information system is of decisive importance for communication between the different actors within the manufacturing enterprise. It should be as easy to communicate with the colleague working next door as with the colleague working in another country. This paper deals with information and communication technologies and how multisite-manufacturing firms adopt these. A framework incorporating time and place perspectives is used to categorise different information technology (IT) tools for coordination, cooperation and communication. We have interviewed managers in three firms with multi-site environments; both IT managers at central headquarters and production managers at geographically dispersed manufacturing plants, to provide a wider perspective on the implementation and use of IT tools.