ABSTRACT
The implementation of industrial engineering (IE) tools typical of Lean Production (LP) in enterprises in China has proven to have a crucial effect on production operation management. For more than 20 years, information technology (IT) has been rapidly applied in the manufacturing industry. During this period, IT system-based IE management ideas and tools (e.g., enterprise resource planning [ERP], material requirements planning [MRP], supply chain management [SCM], manufacturing execution system [MES], and advanced planning and scheduling [APS]) have been intensively used. Only with the support of these IT systems could the LP-based and cross-functional IE management concepts and tools be harnessed.
