Speaking to materials handling insiders in Germany last week, a few hot topics emerged: connectivity, automation and lithium-ion battery technology.
Over the next few weeks, we'll be hearing a lot more about Industry 4.0 and the need for technology integration as some major events start unfolding. The industry will gather in Stuttgart in mid-March for LogiMAT 2018, then in Atlanta, Georgia from April 9-12 for MODEX 2018 before gathering in Hannover from April 23-27 for CeMAT and HANNOVER MESSE.
That's a lot of big events, attracting (hopefully) large numbers of suppliers and buyers.
And no doubt, the conversations will all be dominated by the same issues.
Watch this space as we report on all the burning topics and themes - and the new equipment being rolled out to meet the changing demands.