It's a mixed forecast for material handling stakeholders. On the one hand, prices are improving and equipment wait times are coming down. On the other, economic hardships and labor challenges continue to cloud the future.

How can facilities stay ahead? To find out, we went straight to Jason Laws, who estimates he and his team have spent countless hours talking with 10,000 material handling executives. In the process, Laws, TFS's Market Development Manager, has not only gained deep insights into the issues facing facilities, he has crafted solutions that increased uptime and saved money.

There’s no understating the power of data. And when it comes to keeping material handling facilities running at peak safety and efficiency, telematics has a crucial role to play.

While telematics—a term that blends "telecommunications" and "informatics"—may seem like the hot new buzzword, it’s not. Telematics, which describes the process of collecting and assessing data from warehouse vehicles and equipment through remote telematics systems (e.g., sensors, GPS systems, onboard diagnostics, etc.), has been in use for about two decades and has become increasingly sophisticated.