Primes' Numbers BY ISAAC M. O'BANNON, TECHNOLOGY EDITOR David Primes would probably be among the first to tell you that he's not normal -- at least...

Caption text only.

see number theory .

The annual cost of lost productivity directly related to depression is an estimated $44 billion in the United States, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

Companies that implement supply chain best practices can achieve inventory-on-hand reductions of 50 percent, according to AMR Research.

The looming shortfall of skilled labor in the United States will cost manufacturers $50 million. Source: Advanced Technology Services Inc. survey conducted by AC Nielsen

Global sales of counterfeit drugs amounted to $32 billion in 2003--10 percent of all medicines sold worldwide, according to a recent study by the world Health Organization.

Companies' savings from their largest-impact quality project for the supply chain average $5 million, according to a benchmarking study by Best Practices LLC.

The median hard financial benefit of using black belt professionals to lead Six Sigma process improvement projects is $188,000, according to an iSixSigma Magazine benchmarking study.

The average manufacturer's budget for radio frequency identification technology will grow from $50,000 to $75,000 per year in 2006 to $100,000 to $200,000 in 2007. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]