At the Intermec (www.intermec.com) users conference, Tom Miller, senior vice president of systems and sales, identified two developing automatic data capture (ADC) technologies with a bright future – radio frequency identification (RFID) and the Bluetooth radio frequency communications standard. Neither technology, he noted, is a profit center for suppliers at this point.

In the case of RFID tags, Miller said that the $1 tag is a reality today with future cost reductions expected. Yet even at that cost level, retailers are finding high value in RFID tags to identify what's in a pallet load without having to open any of the shipping cases. However, he does not expect to see widespread use of RFID in these and other applications until usage standards are developed.

As various companies begin to offer data capture units that meet the Bluetooth communications standard, Miller expects it to develop as a cost-effective alternative to hard wiring in industrial applications, such as printers.

In both cases, said Miller, the technology is just catching up to gains leading companies have recently made with business processes that improve internal efficiencies while beefing up customer service. "The interesting part of it all is that just as the technology gets caught up, the business process inevitably goes up to the next level," he said.