To have a truly successful implementation, a maintenance department must be willing to take an in-depth look at how it operates and where maintenance fits into the total operation. It must actively seek areas for improvement and the means to obtain these improvements. Software functionality is merely one of these means. This quest for operational improvement needs to start at software selection. While the improvement process must be continuous, software selection is its critical incubation time.
Software is supposed to be about finding a new, better way of doing things.
Process design and improvement are not an easy mission to undertake. It will significantly add to the effort invested in a software selection. It will require support and input from the entire organization. It may even require some outside resources. But it is the only approach that will allow your operation to meet its real goals and objectives.