After the Sale: Leveraging Maintenance with Information Technology

Post-sale maintenance is already an important part of the competitive strategy of some firms and will become increasingly important to many others in the future. Information technology can be a significant factor in leveraging investments in maintenance and in directing a firm’s overall approach to the maintenance issue. This paper presents a conceptual framework for understanding, along with a series of examples that illustrate the role information technology can play in the maintenance process. The framework and examples are intended to serve as a catalyst for identifying applications of information technology to post-sale maintenance.