The drugmaker has invested heavily in high-tech RFID tags that trace its products from supplier to manufacturer.

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Firms such as American Industrial Partners (AIP), which acquired fire vehicle supplier E-One in 2008, the ambulance manufacturers Halcore and Road Rescue in 2010 and specialty trailer manufacturer Heil Trailer International in 2012, could continue ramping up their presence in that space, the banker and two other bankers suggested.

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And to do that, the manufacturer or service supplier can no longer (as with mass customization) ask for a one-way flow of information from the customer.

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