HISTORY OF LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION

      Logistics was originally a military term, because it is a key of factor in the success or failure wars. In fact, many military experts would say that logistics is the key to winning a war. Historically, logistics has been a leading factor in the success or failure of many military conflicts. Transportation gave countries ability to project power domestically, regionally and globally. It was strong the economy by promoting trade that further improved the military powers. Chinese Emperors sent their aircraft throughout Asia to intimidate neighboring countries and appreciate demand.

      Admiral Alfred T. Mahan wrote a famous book, The Influence of sea Power Upon History, 1660-1738 in 1890, that influenced President Theodore Roosevelt to make the US a world naval power. If logistics is a critical part of military operations, it is just as important to many companies. In recent decades logistics has become an important part of business success, and that is the emphasis in this book. It is important to recognize, thought that logistics is done by public and private sector organizations and the ideas are still basically the same. Some of the techniques are different depending on the needs of the organization, but the differences are quite small. Military logistics emphasize quick response and the flexibility to adapt to changing situations. Many businesses work in environment where quick response and flexibility are important for commercial success.

     Logistics was not always a recognized field of study or a career. In a classic book from 1915, the only two functions of marketing were demand creation and physical supply. There were three reasons integrated logistics did not come about at first:

      1)     There was no role for computers seen in integrating functional areas.

      2)      Volatile economic conditions led management to concentrate on cost containment.

      3)     There was difficulty in quantifying the returns that could be gained.

Since then, a variety of things have changed to the point where logistics is now a well-recognized and valuable part of the company. Why did things change? A few reasons can be identified:

Computerization- having the ability to manage vast amounts of information is vital to many logistics function. The problems were simply too complex and there was a limit to the level of advanced.

Quality management- Companies have been looking at ways to improve their operations, and recognized that logistics was one area that had been historically to looked.

Partnership and alliances- There has been a trend for companies to work closer with their supplier, customers and others partners to improve efficiency.

Deregulation- Certain key parts of the logistics profession were heavily regulated, which prevented them from involve in close cooperation with their customers. This included railroads, ocean shippers and airlines.

     Changes in transportation have played a mixed role in the development of the logistics field. It is important not to mistake the changes in the transportation industry for the demand of the trading public that is driving those changes. Ships, trucks and trains have seen little changes in how they operate over the past several decades. However, the major changes in transportation came not from the transport itself but its role in the larger logistics and business practices. The different modes of transport now work together. It is call intermodalism.