The Fourth Industrial Revolution

View original at www.mhedaconnection.org

This issue of The MHEDA Journal is called the Trends Issue for a reason. So much space has been devoted to the Material Handling Business Trends. What they are, how they were conceived, how they will affect the industry and a retrospective on how we got here. By my estimation, at least 5 of the 11 2018 Trends dealt directly with rapid advancements in technology. Things that were space age in 2008 are not only common-place today, they’re so mundane today that if your company isn’t participating, you’re probably lagging behind. Consider that in 2008: • Facebook hadn’t even introduced the like button • Twitter was one year old• GPS was put in phones for the very first time • Apple launched its app store• Instagram was still two years from being launched • Snapchat was three years from being launched• Google launched the Chrome web browser • “The Cloud” was still a niche service 2008 may not have been the actual tipping point but it was certainly a pivotal year in what some are calling the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It’s when it stopped being an option and started being a necessity to have a cultivated web presence. As of 2016, there were 3.6 billion internet users. It’s also when consumer expectations started to change. I was still two years away from graduating college and joining The MHEDA Journal but one of the trends that has emerged since I started in 2010 is that customers want everything faster. The sales cycle has rapidly accelerated and now, by the time a customer contacts you, they know almost everything they want to about your business. This point was driven home for me when I was interviewing Jeff and Susan Carnahan from Integrity Lift for this issue’s member profile, which can be […]