There’s an interesting take by WMSG on the outlook for technology spending in 2011 in this article.
In summary, he sees an uptick in spending in almost all areas of the typical warehouse-based company, with the exception of RFID. I was particularly interested in the intersection of two of the author's sections, namely "Small and Medium Businesses are Driving WMS Purchases" and "ERP Vendors Gaining Ground in the Warehouse". There's a connection here: many smaller business do need the top-end sophistication provided by a dedicated WMS, but do need the productivity gains inherent in a properly implemented integrated ERP system with solid inventory management tools.
I find the take of RFID interesting. I recall reading many predictions back in 2005 that Wal-Mart would drive RFID to the point where every wholesaler and distributor would have no choice but to adopt the technology by 2010. Well, it's now 2011 and not one of the 12 inventory management software customers I polled for this post has even reached the "intention" stage for RFID.
