Unisys Says Quest for Profit and Security Will Drive Supply Chain Evolution in 2005

Current big buyer mandates will be expanded to more distribution centers and stores, while additional organizations, including government entities, will establish mandates. Leading suppliers to multi-billion dollar companies like Wal-Mart will derive real business benefits across their supply chains.

EPCglobal's information systems network will go live in 2005, enabling data sharing across enterprises. Business and trade networks will invest in greater visibility into the position, movement and status of goods, including the ability to track, demonstrate product pedigrees, prove chain of custody, and optimize stocking and positioning for best possible order fulfillment. This visibility will depend upon integrated data flowing through a seamless, secure infrastructure chain as the leaders move beyond the current "slap and ship" approach. RFID tag reading accuracy, reliability and repeatability will continue to improve along with unit cost reductions.