But that's just the sort of dynamic that will be on display this week at the EPCglobal U.S. Conference 2004 in Baltimore, where the headliners will include executives from Albertsons, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Gillette and Wal-Mart Stores. The hot topic: RFID, short for radio frequency identification.
"The RFID revolution is being driven by big companies that want to use it," said Kevin Ashton, vice president of marketing for technology start-up ThingMagic and former Procter & Gamble executive. "It's a real reversal in terms of technology innovation."
What's the big deal about RFID? For one thing, the gigantic and influential Wal-Mart has ordered its merchandise suppliers to co-operate with its plan to use RFID, an electronic identification technology that may someday replace bar codes as a more effective tool for managing inventory. Wal-Mart and other retailers expect the technology to save them and their suppliers billions of dollars by reducing theft, shaving labour costs and keeping shelves stocked.
The technology works by placing special microchips -- RFID tags -- on merchandise. The tags signal their location across a network of readers placed on shipping docks and in warehouses and stores, allowing retailers and manufacturers to monitor products as they travel from factory to store shelf, and possibly beyond.
As with any new technology wave, RFID is projected to fuel a buying frenzy, with companies stocking up on the required equipment, including RFID tags, readers, computer servers and new software. US retailers will spend nearly $1.3 billion on RFID projects annually by 2008, according to market researcher IDC.
Those kinds of numbers are hard for high-tech companies to ignore. So this week's confab will also feature a lineup of big technology firms pitching their wares. Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, Sun Microsystems and Texas Instruments are all preparing announcements and exhibits for the three-day show, which is expected to draw about 1,500 people.
IBM said Monday that it intends to spend $250 million on developing RFID, and a related technology known as sensor networks, over the next five years. HP is pouring $150 million into the technology, the company said in a duelling announcement.
But equally compelling is the fact that RFID technology has captured people's imaginations as few other recent computing breakthroughs have. Some governments have discussed embedding RFID tags into their national currency to combat counterfeiting. Theme parks have begun issuing RFID bracelets to help parents keep tabs on their wandering children. Hospitals, schools and prisons are experimenting with similar programs to more closely monitor people under their watch.
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