Timeline The history of supply chain management

TIMELINE

THE HISTORY OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Supply Chains, the centre web connecting us around the world, latest disruptions, constraints and shortages have emphasised the significance of these functions to the day to day runnings. In this timeline we look at the history of supply chain management.

1900S

Local supply chains

Prior to the first industrial revolution, supply chains were typically local and restricted to regions. As the use of railroads increased so did the distance that goods could be distributed.

1963

The National Council

The National Council of Physical Distribution Management was formed.

1963

IBM

IBM develops the first computerised inventory management and forecasting system.

1960S

Physical distribution

By the 1960s, DHL joined the growing number of logistics providers, along with FedEx in the 1970s. In this time, time-dependent freight transportation transitioned to trucks, which led to organisations coining the concept ‘physical distribution’.

1975

IBM

First real-time warehouse management system installed.

1950S

Supply chains continue to grow

Between the 1900s and 1950s, global supply chains started to take shape, organisations such as UPS opened their doors. Industry leaders began to look at improving manual processes, researching the use of mechanisation, and demonstrating the benefits of analytics in military logistics following World War II.

1990S

The technological revolution and globalisation

The 1990s to 2000s saw the supply chain industry further grow with the invention of solutions such as ERP and advanced planning and scheduling, as well as the increase in global imports and exports; in 2006, US imports from China grew from US$45bn (1995) to over US$280bn.

1982

Supply chain management

Keith Oliver coined the term ‘supply chain management’

1996

Amazon goes public, becoming the first internet retailer to secure one million customers

1997

Cobot

The first collaborative robot (cobot) was invented.

1980S 2005 2007

Supply chains continue to grow

With the development of personal computers, supply chains had better access to planning capabilities, including spreadsheets and map-based interfaces. By the mid-1980s supply chains were being considered an expensive, important, and complex function. Reflecting this transition, the National Council of Physical Distribution Management changed its name to the Council of Logistics Management (CLM) to represent inbound, outbound and reverse flows.

Council of Logistics Management changes its name to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.

Prime

Amazon launches Amazon Prime offering next day delivery.

2010

Industry 4.0

While the likes of AI, data, and IoT have been around for many years prior to 2010, the last decade has seen an exponential increase in technology adoption and innovation and supply chains have not been left out. Organisations around the world have been driving their digital transformation strategies.