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The thrust of this paper is to develop a comprehensive software selection criterion and view information technology related issues in supply chain management. This paper furnishes implicit details of decision support systems, software solutions and factors associated with selection of IT applications for supply chain management. It entails the components of decision support systems and evolution of supply chain management softwares. A brief discussion of the functioning of various modules of the supply chain package is presented. This paper also proposes the use of percentage based weighted Tree in order to choose appropriate supply chain solution(s).

The purpose of this paper is to enable real estate managers to identify and evaluate appropriate information technology (IT) solutions from the array of options available.

The authors explain the main components of IT solutions and provide a systematic approach for evaluating, selecting, and maintaining a cost‐effective IT solution, empowering corporate real estate managers to make informed IT decisions.

Corporate real estate managers can use a systematic approach to evaluating hardware and software options to select a solution that better serves business needs.

Corporate real estate managers can use the models in this paper to change how they approach the selection of IT solutions for their business.

The paper fills a void by providing IT assistance specifically for corporate real estate managers using business rather than technical language.

This study proposes targeted modernization of the Department of Defense (DoD's) Joint Forces Ammunition Logistics information system by implementing the optimized innovative information technology open architecture design and integrating Radio Frequency Identification Device data technologies and real-time optimization and control mechanisms as the critical technology components of the solution. The innovative information technology, which pursues the focused logistics, will be deployed in 36 months at the estimated cost of $568 million in constant dollars. We estimate that the Systems, Applications, Products (SAP)-based enterprise integration solution that the Army currently pursues will cost another $1.5 billion through the year 2014; however, it is unlikely to deliver the intended technical capabilities.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the Open Source Software (OSS) market relevant to Indian libraries and more specifically, to review the existing library automation, i.e. Integrated Library Management System (ILMS) and Digital Library (DL) software solutions.

Survey method was adopted to collect data for this study and the sample population for this study included 356 library professionals.

The study findings indicate presence of OSS like Koha and NewGenLib in the ILMS category and Dspace, Eprints and Greenstone in the DL software category in India. The study also indicates that there is considerable interest among Indian libraries to adopt or migrate to OSS.

The sample included largely, more than 80 percent, responses from the academic library segment and hence the results and analysis maybe more skewed to the academic library segment. However the implications of this study could be extended to other type of libraries and facilitate library professionals to make software choices with respect to library automation.

In addition to exploring the opportunities of OSS implementation in Indian libraries, the study includes issues related to migration, implementation, budget, training, etc. The study would have value for library professionals and OSS vendors to understand the Indian library market in the context of OSS.

The purpose of this study is to examine the actions and interactions that take place before and after purchase between a service provider (service seller) and its customers (service buyers) in complex business relationships. Specifically, it is to examine customers’ expectations of the service provider’s service offer before purchase and the same customers’ perceptions of the service solution offered after purchase in a business-to-business (B2B) context.

This study adopted a mixed methods design, which combined data generated through in-depth interviews (both with service buyers and key informants from the service company), an online customer survey, analysis of textual documents and structured observations of buyer–seller interactions and actions. Both objective and subjective points of view at different stages of the investigation were collected.

The authors’ results show that, contrary to previous evidence in B2C service research, the customers’ perceptions of the service performance were not significantly related to their previous expectations. In this context, characterized by dynamic and constantly evolving processes and many parties (both from the buyer and the seller company) involved in the implementation process, service complexity may cause a lack of well-formed expectations regarding how the service will perform and its relevant performance attributes.

This study suggests that the service models traditionally used to describe and explain customer service expectations and perceptions in relatively simple service contexts with final consumers are difficult to apply in B2B complex business relationships. Rather, scholars need to take a holistic, continuously evolving and adapted perspective when examining the formation of customer service expectations and their perceptions in B2B complex services.

There should be a teleological balance between sales and purchase approaches in B2B contexts to optimize the outcome of complex business relationships between service providers and service receivers. The authors suggest several recommendations to service providers to ensure that their salespeople do not create unrealistic and unachievable expectations in the minds of the service receivers. Service providers are also encouraged to develop formal cross functional teams (e.g. consisting of salespeople, service technicians and service support) based on mutual understanding and information sharing.

This study provides an alternative time-oriented understanding of the way customer expectations before purchase and their perceptions after purchasing a complex software solution in industrial markets formed through the lens of teleological framework. As such, this is the first empirical inquiry with this specific framework in B2B contexts making a relevant contribution to literature.

The balanced scorecard (BSC) is a management tool that helps to align behavior of all employees to the organization’s strategy. Research suggests that about half of large US firms have already adopted the BSC and many more are considering implementation. Organization‐wide implementation of a BSC requires IT support and numerous software vendors have taken the opportunity to build software solutions to support a BSC implementation. The problem executives face today is that there are over two‐dozen application‐providers to choose from, each of them claiming that their solution offers unique and important features. Selecting the wrong solution can undermine the entire BSC development effort and the credibility of the performance management system. This article addresses the issue of BSC software by (1) explaining why organizations might need software to support their implementation and (2) by developing a framework to assist organizations in this important decision process.

Information technology service management (ITSM) has become a major IT department management system in organizations. Successful implementation of ITSM depends on select adequate ITSM software. Evaluation and selection of the ITSM solution or software packages is complicated and time-consuming decision-making problem. This paper aims to present an approach for dealing with such a problem.

This approach introduces functional, non-functional requirements and novel fuzzy out-ranking evaluation method for ITSM software selection. The presented approach breaks down ITSM software selection criteria into two broad categories, namely, functional (service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation, continual service improvement according to Information Technology Infrastructure Library V3) and non-functional requirements (quality, technical, vendor, implementation) including totally 46 selection criteria. A novel fuzzy superiority and inferiority ranking (FSIR) was developed and made applicable for ITSM software selection based on identified criteria.

The proposed approach is applied to IT services company to select and acquire ITSM software, and the provided numerical example illustrates the applicability of the approach for this choice. The approach can facilitate firms to achieve suitable ITSM software and have a precise acquisition decision; however, the limitation of dependency on experts’ competence and proficiency in the both ITSM field and IT technical issues exists.

The approach can facilitate firms to achieve suitable ITSM software and have a precise acquisition decision; however, the limitation of dependency on experts’ competence and proficiency in the both ITSM field and IT technical issues exists.

Facilitating of ITSM implementation through its handy software selection is the major impact of current research.

A facile FSIR-based approach for software selection has been customized to contribute to the current literature in the ITSM field. Facilitating of ITSM implementation through its handy software selection is the major impact of current research.

The aim of this article is to develop an understanding of marketing and customer relationships in software SMEs (small to medium‐sized enterprises) using a mixed methods approach.

The methodology combined qualitative research methods along with quantitative adaptive conjoint analysis (ACA). A software SME was investigated as a case study during the first stage of the investigation. In order to ascertain detailed customer perceptions and expectations of their software supplier, 16 semi‐structured interviews were conducted with the software SME's customers. The interviews subsequently informed the ACA, which was chosen as an analytical tool to establish quantitative hierarchy of relevant attributes identified at the qualitative stage of the study.

Marketing in software SMEs is dependant on effective relationships between the firm and its customers and these relationships should be based on providing a quality software solution, understanding the customer requirement and professionalism. Other marketing tactics that are used to improve customer perceived credibility include forming alliances and partnerships within the technology sector.

Software SMEs should proactively develop relationships with prospective as well as current customers and strive for a balance between customer orientation and innovation by involving the customer throughout the development of the software solution. The study's pragmatic approach has provided applicable results due to insight into a management case complemented with industry expectation of software product and service delivery.

This combination of methods has made it possible to explore marketing and customer relationships in the software industry from multiple viewpoints. Therefore, the findings contribute to the limited literature of marketing in software SMEs and customers' decision‐making processes when purchasing software.

Court decisions, based largely on principles of equal protection and non-discrimination, throw out laws with preferences for open source software, demonstrating that such laws are not only bad public policy, but may also be illegal, and that neutrality and choice in software procurement is the better approach.

This paper seeks to describe the evolution of SAP implementation methodologies and tools, in particular, Value SAP, with a focus on the Accelerated SAP (ASAP) implementation methodology and its evolution as a part of SAP's new Solution Manager tool.

The general approach is more focused on monitoring and managing an ongoing SAP implementation project using an enterprise solution architecture. Three options are explored.

Finds that one option supports end‐to‐end business process management – other options can be managed, but with cost and risk.

This paper has reviewed the latest developments in SAP implementation methodologies from a management orientation. The issues in this paper are often taken for granted by researchers, so it is hoped that the focus on these issues will elevate interests in pursuing some of the unanswered questions.