LEAN MANAGEMENT AND THE ENABLING FACTORS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Many studies show that despite huge and still increasing investments in information technology (IT) no positive effect on the productivity of the economy as a whole can be found. The major reason for this is that the full potential of IT to increase productivity can be exploited only through the design of new organizational structures and processes and the implementation of new management concepts. IT provides for this 'enabling factors'. First of all. an introduction to the principles of lean management is given, afterwards the enabling factors of IT and their support for the implementation of lean management are discussed.