We pioneered the design/build project methodology for facility automation through such innovations as the world's first personal computer distribution center (8 total for IBM©), the world's first mail order pharmacy, and one of the first fully automated distribution centers integrating WMS with material handling automation and automated print and apply technology.

Below is a partial list of innovations FORTE has brought to the industry:

• The personal computer (PC) is introduced to the world by IBM with help from FORTE. FORTE designed and built the world’s first PC distribution center specifically for the IBM PC.
• Introduced “Design/Build” to the distribution marketplace, a first for the industry, providing single-source responsibility for consulting and systems integration.
• The world’s first mail order pharmacy for Hooks SuperX, later to become CVS/pharmacy.
• One of the industry’s first print-and-apply automated label application systems and WMS integrations for Leviton. FORTE’s work helps set design specifications for the systems that are still in use today.
• One of the first Provia WMS integrations for Candle-lite®.
• The first fully automated DC to use Manhattan Associates® PkMS WMS.
• One of the first DCs to feature full WMS integration and automated print-and-apply label application technology.
• The industry's first standardized, fully functional, Microsoft® Windows™-based warehouse controls systems (WCS) middleware package—FORTE’s Automation Director. It is the only WCS to work universally with any manufacturer’s material handling equipment.
• True single-source accountability to the consulting and facility automation industries with our CONTINUIM™ system, and are the first company in consulting or facility automation to offer a post-engagement Distribution Operations Improvement (DOI) program, CONTINUIM Optimize.
• The first Distribution Intelligence System (DIS) software, iOPTIMIZE™. iOPTIMIZE turns historical data into working intelligence, delivers total process synchronization, and provides real-time KPI-based performance metrics, driving ongoing process improvement.
• The Founding Sponsor of the Distribution On Demand (DOD) Initiative, a consortium of distribution leaders and companies looking to address the new era of real-time, customer demand-driven distribution.