Only 15 per cent of manufacturing managers say their company's supply chain data is accurate, according to a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit.

And even fewer executives say the information is as timely as it could be.

But few are resting on their laurels: nearly three-quarters of manufacturing companies plan to increase spending on their supply chains over the next three years, to improve stock visibility, cut costs and speed time to market.

The survey, sponsored by Unisys, says technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are increasingly important in improving the visibility of assets.

A separate report last week also suggests that one in three European retailers are using RFID in their supply chains, with nearly half expected to do so in the next six months.

The report, which polled 158 mid-sized and large retailers across Europe, highlights the increasingly rapid take-up of the technology in retail supply chains.

Many of the firms are involved in either large-scale rollouts (one fifth of respondents) or small scale trials (a third of respondents).

Some 35 per cent tag cases or pallets from suppliers, with one in ten tagging more than 50 per cent of stock arriving from suppliers.

Of the 56 per cent of firms not planning a trial of the technology in the next six months, high costs and a lack of specialist expertise were the primary factors preventing take-up.

The survey, commissioned by IT vendor Printronix, polled retailers in Europe's largest markets, including the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.