Intro_ lo

nformation technology, in any form, has its own inherent tendencies and influences the nature and direction of organizations. It has significantly changed supply chain processes across different organizations and, in many cases, improved competitiveness. This trend cannot be stopped and therefore should be understood so that it can be directed toward enabling organizations to achieve better performance. The effectiveness of a supply chain depends on several factors. One important factor is the use of technology to conduct business transactions and to facilitate the sharing of information (within the company, as well as outside the company) and collaboration with suppliers and customers [7]. Admittedly, these technologies show great promise, but practitioners and researchers must address many unresolved issues on the organizational frontier. Supply chain technologies (SCT) and their impact on organizational processes is one such area of concern. The choice of implementing the right technology in the supply chain has always been a contentious decision open to several debates. To take a contemporary case in point: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and more than 100 of its suppliers are currently engaged in a big experiment—that of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) implementation in the supply chain. This is slated to continue through 2007 and would either establish RFID technology as a major force in supply chain management or relegate it to the list of technologies that have promised more than what they could deliver. The company intends to use RFID to reduce stock-outs,