Trenton, New Jersey, isn't the industrial powerhouse it once was, even if the slogan "Trenton Makes, the World Takes," first installed in 1935, still stands in 10-foot-tall letters across a bridge that spans the Delaware River to Pennsylvania. But a few minutes east of town, inside a warehouse belonging to Amazon, there are signs of another industrial transformation.

Toyota Industrial Equipment has joined with Sprint to launch T-Matics Mobile, a vehicle-management system for controlling forklifts within and between distribution facilities.

With today's fast-paced supply chain and rising consumer demand, it has become a best practice for warehouses to prepare and stage orders prior to the truck's arrival, typically up to 24 hours in advance. While this practice may seem like an effective method of fulfilling orders in a timely and accurate manner, it doesn't take into consideration the possibility that the truck is late, or worse, doesn’t show up at all.