ProLogis, a global provider of distribution facilities and services, has released the latest edition of its Supply Chain Review entitled, "RFID – Lessons Learned" which is based on interviews conducted with 31 supply chain leaders and describes their preparations or strategies for dealing with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology as well as the lessons that they have learned.

Leonard Sahling, head of the ProLogis Research Group, noted, "To date, the high cost of RFID tags and readers has generally outweighed the potential benefits. But technological breakthroughs announced during the past few months have reduced these costs by about a third. Within the next year or so, we expect to see a sharp acceleration in the number of companies that have purchased state-of-the-art RFID systems and incorporated them into their supply chain operations."

He continued, "Industry leaders emphasised that one of the key lessons learned is that companies cannot afford to ignore RFID. If they wait until the bugs have all been fixed, they run the risk of falling behind and ending up at a competitive disadvantage once RFID technology takes off and becomes the industry standard."