For owners, executives or anyone with large-scale purchasing power in the forklift industry, the idea of giving another second’s thought to the latest device, project management system or operations optimisation platform is likely to send the mind toward daydreams of early retirement. Even those who recognise the undeniable benefits of technology in the industry can be drained by tech fatigue, overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices, calculating how each fits into a business and endlessly measuring their respective ROIs.

It’s a headache, of course, but, worse, can feel like a waste of valuable time. The trouble for industry leaders who are truly growth-oriented, who want their businesses to be around and thriving 10 and 20 years from now, is that we have reached an inflection point at which a choice must be made: Technology, and specifically AI-driven tech, will soon separate the material handlers organizations that have a future from the others. Just as the internet was the previous once-a-century innovation that reinvented business, AI is set to reshape work as we know it in the years ahead.

The AI timeline is shorter than you think

There is a business instinct that has served many in the industry well: timing. Finding the appropriate balance between prudence and bold action is critical when making technology and investment decisions that can make or break a company. But in this case, and at this point in the timeline, patience isn’t a virtue. The window to choose a tech stack or partner – and the right technology – is closing.

In 2024, McKinsey projected global automation of current work activities to hit 50 percent as soon as 2030. The same study, administered in 2017, suggested a date a decade in the future for the same level of adoption. The timeline is accelerating, which tracks with everything we know and have seen in the field of AI as it advances in leaps and bounds. Waiting for the opportunity to catch up will eventually leave most businesses with no opportunity at all – and likely no business.

AI fuels automation which supercharges efficiency

The key to understanding AIs connection to the future of the industry, and to conveying that vision to a CEO, a board or any other skeptical stakeholders is this: Artificial intelligence isn’t the flavour of the month, an additive resource or even the best tech option of the foreseeable future – it is the platform from which all forklift (and most industry) will run just a few years from now. Avoiding it won’t be an option. The path forward will be successfully leveraging AI to suit an organisation’s operational and business needs.

And make no mistake: Artificial intelligence will be transformative for those organisations that make the most of it. There is no comparison when it comes to the level of disruption AI will bring to the industry. Adopters will recruit the top talent who want to work with cutting-edge tech and land clients who have begun to expect big, AI-driven results. Material handlers will get exponentially more work done, clients will receive quicker follow-ups and profits will start stacking. In short order, the separation between AI users and non-users in the industry will become a chasm.

Where should materials handlers start with AI?

Returning to the root of the problem, most organisations are daunted by the number of options and the complexities involved in incorporating artificial intelligence and AI-based software platforms into industry operations. So here, we identify a few best practices:

• Simplify: Document everything, remove waste and clarify ownership. To the extent that it’s possible, whittle all aspects of the business down to their basics.
• Integrate: Identify silos and connect systems. Create one source of truth to improve agility and scalability.
• Automate:Identify repetition and rules. This reveals what can be automated and the information that can be fed to it. Select the right tool and assign a champion.
• Accelerate: Identify quick wins. Fix processes to make AI instantly viable. Pair agents with workflow and find a partner. This doesn’t get done without the right people.

In closing, material handler leaders don’t need to be artificial intelligence experts to build a future on the leading edge of AI. 

After preparing those areas of a business that are best managed by an industry expert, vet an appropriate partner who can activate and connect those areas with AI and software platforms to optimise and begin scaling up the entire operation.