With the rise of radio frequency identification (RFID), the final days of bar codes can't be far behind. That's the "logical conclusion" reached by many watching Wal-Mart and others move to identification of cases and pallets with RFID. Others, however, are saying wait just a minute, here.

"I personally don't believe RFID will ever replace bar codes," says Steve Halliday, president of High Tech Aid, an automatic data capture consultancy. "RFID will enhance bar codes particularly in applications where RFID is a better choice than bar codes," Halliday says. He made his comments as moderator of the RFID Summit held last month at the Frontline's Supply Chain Week show and conference.

Boeing, for instance, is looking to identify various critical components in planes using RFID, bar codes and human readable data on labels, according to program manager Ken Porad. He says these hybrid labels are intended to be in place for the life of the parts. And even Wal-Mart is working with suppliers to combine the use of bar codes and RFID, at least initially if not longer, to identify receipts.

As Halliday adds, "the future will be a hybrid world. The right technology for each application. Technology doesn't get replaced. It gets supplemented."