From government to home solutions, RFID is changing, step by step, our way of working, answering our questions about the world we live in, as well as creating humanitarian solutions that can make a real difference in the lives of those in need. Many negative myths exist about RFID and its applicability, reliability and availability. They are oft repeated by those who have low to no contact with the actual solutions.

RFID is finally becoming the solution that will make integrated supply chain management possible. 2009 promises to be a banner year for the technology, with the introduction of new and more ambitious applications.

In past product lifecycle management research, we asked manufacturers why they think product launches fail-the reason most often cited was that the product doesn't meet customer needs. While still within the top three, not meeting customer needs has been replaced in this year's spending study by a new top challenge: higher than projected costs.

Because of margin and market growth pressures, life sciences supply chains are more dynamic than ever before. In 2009, best practice companies will continue to put in place data analysis processes and "human knowledge" collection procedures to spot red flags and safety risks in their end-to-end supply chains.

The instability of the international container shipping sector, capacity withdrawal on some routes and "slow steaming" practices will expose exporters and importers to greater risks.

The focus on green network design allows companies to reach to the core of the green supply chain movement by optimizing resources and reducing waste.

Certainly we expect the new president to favor legislation protecting consumers as well as incentives to reduce job losses to low-cost manufacturing countries. But it is not clear how much of an effect he will be able to have, at least in the short term. We do expect to see significant investments in infrastructure/public works projects and a continuation, for now, of recent defense spending levels.

With new crises seemingly emerging weekly, risk management has taken on a new urgency. Leading companies recognize the importance of a solid supply chain risk discipline, but grapple with scope, ownership, metrics, and ties to other types of strategic and operational risks facing the business.

The election of Barack Obama in the United States, the repercussions of the global "financial bailout" and a potential increase in environmental regulations will affect supply chain operations at multiple levels. The ability to quickly monitor and absorb these changes in supply chain structures will be the main agenda for 2009.

To make multi-echelon inventory optimization more impactful, it must take a more holistic approach that accounts for the implications of inventory decisions on total supply chain costs, for organizational realities and weaknesses in supporting functional areas.