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Nearly 100 years after the word Logistics
was first coined in the UK, ‘The
Independent’ newspaper ran an article
describing ‘Supply Chain -
Ford, now a well-known car manufacturer,
installed their first moving assembly line
capable of producing an entire
automobile -
During the 1940’s in to the 50’s the focus in
the logistics field was on finding ways to
obtain better warehouse space, the use of
racking and ultimately ways to achieve the
best possible layout for a warehouse. Use of
pallets became increasingly popular during
this time alongside the ‘unit load’ concept. -
the utilization of
inter modal containers alongside trucks, trains and
ships to transport items to wherever they needed to
be. It is widely believed transport management paved
the way for Supply Chain globalization -
Barcoding
The warehousing world was about
to be revolutionized because you can now scan -
In 1960 the discovery was made that computer
systems had the capability to transfer data from
one computer to another enabling the exchange
of electronic business documents. Whilst this is
something we now do so often it is the ‘norm’ in
1960 this was a massive advancement for
businesses around the world. -
Recycling is an area of focus for most businesses
these days, going green, looking at ways to cut down
on waste and find environmentally friendly ways to
dispose of waste is big business. In 1971 was a
relatively new concept for businesses following the
release of a book titled ‘The Environmental Handbook
Prepared For The First National Environmental
Teach-In’ was released by Garrett De Bell, in 1970 -
“Supply chain management (SCM) is the process of
planning, implementing, and controlling the operations of the supply chain with the
purpose to satisfy customer requirements as efficiently as possible. Supply chain
management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process
inventory, and finished goods from point-of-origin to point-of-consumption”. -
in 1985 Fed Ex developed a new
computerized tracking system that
provided near real time information about
packages for delivery. Equipping drivers
with portable hand held computers to
scan pickups and deliveries, meaning the
status of a shipment could be monitored
end to end. -
In 1990 the principles of Lean manufacturing were not new,
the term ‘Lean Manufacturing’ certainly was. -
In 1998 Jeff Bezos left his job on Wall Street to start
Amazon. Within four months, the company became
extremely popular. Within a month of its website
launch Amazon had filled orders from 50 states and
45 countries -
in 2000 RFID was developed at the MIT Auto-ID
Center. It is a code-carrying technology, and can
be used in place of a barcode to enable non-line
of sight-reading. It's synonymous with
track-and-trace solutions and has a critical role
to play in supply chains. -