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Forklifts are reaching new heights of functionality. The demand for vehicles that are efficient, safe and have the flexibility to operate effectively in a host of environments is leading to the development of models with enhanced designs and features.

Not all that long ago, fleet software defined a relatively narrow range of products that primarily were designed to track maintenance schedules and the related costs of vehicle operation/ownership.

In 1976, the United States was celebrating its bicentennial, the National Basketball Association and the American Basketball Association agreed to a merger, and the CN Tower was built in Toronto, making it the tallest free-standing land structure at the time.

Despite increasing awareness, milk crates, plastic pallets, bakery trays, beverage shells and other containers made from high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) are disappearing at a rate that costs retailers and CPG businesses $500 million per year. Ultimately, consumers end up paying this $500 million annual expense in the costs of goods purchased.

At the end of April, MarketsandMarkets published a report titled “Automated Guided Vehicle Market by Type (Unity Load Carrier, Tow Vehicle, Pallet Truck, Assembly Line Vehicle), Industry Verticle (Automotive and others), Application (Transportation, Distribution and others), and Geography — Global Forecast to 2020,” which stated the automated guided vehicle (AGV) market is expected to reach $2.2 million by 2020, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 9.8 percent between 2014 and 2020.

As the beverage industry continues to experience significant levels of consolidation, distributors on the local, national and global level are being affected.

Outside of the big corporate brands, few modern breweries have a heritage that stretches across five generations. John H. Sleeman – great-great-grandfather of current proprietor John W. Sleeman – started in 1834 building a business inspired by the brewing recipes developed by his ancestors.

As with any other form of technology, telematics solutions are always changing. From new devices to new software solutions, telematics suppliers are innovating to offer more effective and efficient solutions. Marco Encinas, product manager for Teletrac and Navman Wireless, Garden Grove, Calif., gives Beverage Industry insights to new innovations in telematics devices. 

As summer draws closer, many consumers daydream of sitting by the pool with a drink in hand, and that's exactly what those in the beverage industry are daydreaming of too.

From smartphones and tablets to electric cars, technology only seems to have made life easier, and several technological innovations have done just that for the beverage industry as well.