Jonson Yue, director of business development for the RFID division of Avery Dennison, Asia-Pacific, said: 'The growth of RFID over the past three to four years has been spectacular. This is being driven mostly by developments in ultra-high frequency technology and products. Some of the initial concerns regarding material sensitivity and efficient, accurate labels have been addressed, and are now inherently reliable because of the advanced technologies.'

The telecommunications industry is the most widely publicised segment of ultra-high frequency technology. A key benefit associated with the use of ultra-high frequency is that RFID labels can be used with all frequencies.

This means that one label can be tracked around the world regardless of regional standards. The global design of the tags has generated tremendous support from several international retail giants. Additionally, recent developments in preventing interference from other applications have helped ease the security and privacy issues many retailers were initially concerned with.

This has encouraged more companies to perform in-depth reviews and analyses to ensure the move to RFID is one that makes sense with the specific company's business model and direction. While the equipment and materials may be affordable, the hidden costs of re-engineering a company's business structure can be prohibitive, depending on the breadth of application and size of the company.

Part of the analysis process includes the review of systems integration and infrastructure applications throughout the entire supply chain, and the eventual implementation of such a system can be complex. This has created demand for young, dynamic people to join the industry.

'The commercial application of RFID is a relatively young industry and a broad spectrum of new roles are emerging. Because it affects the entire value chain we tend to look at people from a variety of backgrounds; those with semi-conductor skills, label industry experience, retail management, supply chain and warehouse management, and IT systems and integration experience are just some of the qualities we look at. But the binding characteristic we look for is that the individual be able to enjoy a challenge. We are taking existing skills and meshing them with a new technology, so the opportunities are plentiful,' Mr Yue said.

The RFID movement is not spearheaded by any individual company but through a group effort between industry leaders, laboratories and global application standard and protocol bodies.

Among the collaborative associated organisations are seven universities worldwide that help facilitate the development and standardisation of RFID applications from research to practical, real world application. Electronic Product Code, GS1 and the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) are all also greatly involved in globalising application standards and protocols, and the UHF standard of RFID is already in compliance with the latest ISO 18000 6C standard.

Initiatives being launched by these groups include second-generation labels which can be tailored to specific industry sectors, such as the apparel and footwear markets. High visibility and tracking for each item throughout the transport process are now commonplace.

While the cost benefits of RFID labelling in efficiency, logistics, inventory and warehouse management, and product-specific feedback for marketing and sales purposes are touted, are the results really as tangible and substantial as claimed? According to Avery Dennison, definitely.

Mr Yue said that after a lengthy pilot run in 2003-2004 and the billions of US dollars in forecast savings, Wal-Mart had set a firm deadline of January 1, 2009 for complete RFID implementation across the entire supply chain.

The company has offered assistance and support in helping suppliers become compliant. Other major companies globally and in Hong Kong, that have conducted extensive test runs, foresee overall savings and a considerable increase in sales.

Marks & Spencer in Hong Kong performed tests which resulted in a 30 per cent increase in sales due to the smoother, more efficient operations gained through the enhanced system.

Mr Yue said: 'Consumers will also benefit from companies converting to RFID because retailers and merchants will be able to improve their customer service, product availability and selection, and offer lower pricing.'