10 trends to watch.

By Bill Spaide

As an example, officials at the Levenger catalog already use PDAs to confirm ship-alone merchandise, eliminating the need for these bulky items to be moved to a regular shipping station for shipment/manifesting.

Lower costs and improved software also will substantially increase the use of other forms of automation. Proven technologies commonly found in other industries and in larger direct-commerce operations will find their way into most catalog operations. The introduction of identification methods such as bar codes or RF-ID, ASNs in the receiving process, and paperless picking using either voice recognition or radio frequency should all but eliminate paper-based transactions.