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www.johnstark.com |
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The vendor should be seen as a potentially very helpful partner for the process of implementing CAD/CAM/CAE in the company. Unfortunately, such a partnership does not always develop. Sometimes this is because vendor staff have oversold the system, so after installation it does not live up to expectations. Sometimes it is because the company has not really understood the potential of CAD/CAM/CAE or the resources that must be committed if it is to be used successfully. This state of affairs is unfortunate, especially during early stages when company staff are rarely sufficiently knowledgeable to be completely independent and can benefit from all the assistance that the vendor can offer. If they do not really believe the vendor's word, they are unlikely to benefit as much as possible. Even after use of the system has gone beyond the teething stage, it is preferable to have a good relationship with the vendor. Through other customers, the vendor will have wide experience of the ways that the system is used and can pass on useful information. Since few companies will want to get involved in major developments of the system, the vendor will be the major source of improvements and extensions. Similarly, the vendor will probably be the major source of maintenance, unless this is contracted out to a third party. Provided that the relationship with the vendor is good, a continuous flow of useful advice, developments, and contacts should ensue. The vendor will be happy to put the company in contact with other users with similar applications, and joint projects may develop. User groups, which bring together members of the various companies using a particular system, are associated with most systems. Meetings of user groups provide a forum for users to learn from each other, to compare notes, to discuss and hopefully to solve common problems, and perhaps to agree to jointly request the vendor to make certain improvements or modifications to the system. Although user groups are usually independent of the vendor, there is generally a good communication channel between the vendor and the user group. |