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What to Load and How to Transport



What to Load and How to Transport

History of Delivery and Logistics

Everything around us, no matter how trivial it is, has its own history.
Here are some easy and interesting history that may be common sense for some and may become a good small talk topic for others.
The first story is the history of delivery and logistics, which have become an important part of our lives today.

When did the history of logistics begin and how did it evolve?


Logistics, in general, refers to the movement of goods. If we simply view the movement of goods as the beginning of logistics, we will have to go up to the time when mankind first appeared on Earth, because before civilization, when humans began to settle around the rivers, they probably carried things like hunting tools or food on their backs, in search of food and shelter. Therefore, the industrial revolution probably marks the beginning of logistics, in the modern sense. It is also called logistics 1.0. During this time, the development of the railroad network and automobiles enabled the mass transportation of goods. Then the logistics 2.0 era began in the 1960s, when the mechanization of loading and unloading, in addition to the mass transportation of goods, appeared. In addition, pallets and mechanization of the distribution warehouses spurred the growth of logistics. From the 1980s, the development of computers opened the age of logistics 3.0, in which logistics management started to get systemized. Then, finally, in the current age of logistics 4.0, with the development of the Internet of Things, we have achieved fully automated logistics through machines, artificial intelligence, and management systems instead of manpower.


Examining the history of food delivery, the center of the delivery culture

Logistics is a broad concept, and it is difficult to grasp what it actually means in the everyday life. To help understand, I would like to start with logistics in small-scale, namely, delivery. Undoubtedly, food delivery is the type of delivery we are most familiar with. It is the most accessible and frequent form of delivery that we see in our daily lives and has become an important part of life especially after the spread of COVID-19.

As it turned out, the first form of delivery in Korea was also food delivery. The first written record of delivery is from 1768, in the diary of Hwang Yoon-seok, a scholar from Joseon Dynasty. In his diary, he wrote that he ordered naengmyeon for lunch with his party the day after taking the state exam. Korean food with the first and longest history of delivery is naengmyeon.

Food delivery culture in Korea began to spread in earnest in the 1930s, during the Japanese occupation. Since it was before bicycles were widely used, food was delivered by foot. A news article published in Dong A Ilbo on January 2, 1931 stated that a delivery man went as far as 20 ri (about 8km) to deliver food. Food delivery expanded more around the Korean War (6.25), as bicycles became more widespread. Since the appearance of motor scooters in the 1980s, food delivery became popular nationwide.


Parcel delivery is a relatively new thing

Another familiar form of logistics in our daily lives is parcel delivery. It is difficult to imagine a world without parcel delivery now, but parcel delivery, as a modern logistics service, is a relatively new concept which first appeared in Korea in 1992. Pabalma, a service introduced by Hanjin that benchmarked the Yamato Transport founded in Japan in 1976, marked the beginning of today’s parcel delivery service. After seeing the profitability of the parcel service, many companies jumped into the market, and the parcel delivery quickly spread across the country and into the everyday life.

Eliminating the modern logistics services, Korea's first small parcel delivery service dates back to 1962. “Mr. Michang” is the first delivery driver and the name Michang is short for Hanguk Migok Chango (Korean Rice Warehouse), the predecessor of Korea Express at the time. The drivers transported railroad packages or moving boxes for individual customers between cargo handling centers in Seoul and Busan. The means of transportation were handcarts and cows for short distances and three-wheeled trucks for long distances.

The history of global logistics follows the history of transportation

Direct buying of foreign goods is one of the forms of logistics that have become as popular as parcel or food delivery in recent years. Items purchased directly from overseas are transported from a warehouse to another by railroads or vehicles, and are transported to another country by ships and airplanes. In the end, global logistics have progressed in line with the development of cars, trains, ships, and planes. Therefore, the history of logistics follows the order of appearance of the mode of transport, starting with ships, then to railways, cars, and airplanes.

The appearance of ships that marked the beginning of logistics dates back to the ancient civilizations. The oldest ship was made of reeds of papyrus, which was also used to make the first paper in ancient Egypt. The most recent mode of transportation is the airplane, which, as we all know, began with the Wright brothers in 1903. The first commercial airship appeared six years after the Wright brothers, in 1909, when a German airline company, DELAG, developed a passenger and cargo airship, the Zeppelin. The first international airline to use an airplane was the British airline, AT&T, in 1916.


The future of logistics with drones and robots

Today, delivery, courier, and logistics use new means that were completely unseen before. The drone is the most recent representative as many logistics companies around the world, including Amazon, are expressing strong interest in utilizing drones to deliver packages. Those companies are testing pilot services and commercialization around the globe.

Drone courier appeals to many because it can provide unprecedentedly fast delivery using the sky road instead of congested ground road. In addition, it can reduce the cost of labor and maintenance significantly as one drone pilot can operate multiple drones at the same time. As it is expected to bring logistics revolution, drone delivery will surely expand its market. While drones are leading the logistics revolution in the sky, robots are leading the logistics revolution on the ground. With the development of IoT and artificial intelligence, the use of autonomous robots is rapidly increasing. Self-driving robots, which have become popular mainly for food delivery, are accelerating in development, and the range of services is rapidly expanding since COVID-19, which gave rise to contactless delivery and social distancing.

An idea of using drones and autonomous robots to bring goods to your doorstep was a concept that was foreign to us 30 years ago, when the delivery service first started in Korea. However, it has become a matter of time, not a matter of possibility for us living in today’s world. What will be the means of delivering packages in 30 years? We will leave it up to the imagination of the readers.

2021.01.01

History of Delivery and Logistics

Everything around us, no matter how trivial it is, has its own history.
Here are some easy and interesting history that may be common sense for some and may become a good small talk topic for others.
The first story is the history of delivery and logistics, which have become an important part of our lives today.

When did the history of logistics begin and how did it evolve?

Logistics, in general, refers to the movement of goods. If we simply view the movement of goods as the beginning of logistics, we will have to go up to the time when mankind first appeared on Earth, because before civilization, when humans began to settle around the rivers, they probably carried things like hunting tools or food on their backs, in search of food and shelter. Therefore, the industrial revolution probably marks the beginning of logistics, in the modern sense. It is also called logistics 1.0. During this time, the development of the railroad network and automobiles enabled the mass transportation of goods. Then the logistics 2.0 era began in the 1960s, when the mechanization of loading and unloading, in addition to the mass transportation of goods, appeared. In addition, pallets and mechanization of the distribution warehouses spurred the growth of logistics. From the 1980s, the development of computers opened the age of logistics 3.0, in which logistics management started to get systemized. Then, finally, in the current age of logistics 4.0, with the development of the Internet of Things, we have achieved fully automated logistics through machines, artificial intelligence, and management systems instead of manpower.

Examining the history of food delivery, the center of the delivery culture

Logistics is a broad concept, and it is difficult to grasp what it actually means in the everyday life. To help understand, I would like to start with logistics in small-scale, namely, delivery. Undoubtedly, food delivery is the type of delivery we are most familiar with. It is the most accessible and frequent form of delivery that we see in our daily lives and has become an important part of life especially after the spread of COVID-19.

As it turned out, the first form of delivery in Korea was also food delivery. The first written record of delivery is from 1768, in the diary of Hwang Yoon-seok, a scholar from Joseon Dynasty. In his diary, he wrote that he ordered naengmyeon for lunch with his party the day after taking the state exam. Korean food with the first and longest history of delivery is naengmyeon.

Food delivery culture in Korea began to spread in earnest in the 1930s, during the Japanese occupation. Since it was before bicycles were widely used, food was delivered by foot. A news article published in Dong A Ilbo on January 2, 1931 stated that a delivery man went as far as 20 ri (about 8km) to deliver food. Food delivery expanded more around the Korean War (6.25), as bicycles became more widespread. Since the appearance of motor scooters in the 1980s, food delivery became popular nationwide.

Parcel delivery is a relatively new thing

Another familiar form of logistics in our daily lives is parcel delivery. It is difficult to imagine a world without parcel delivery now, but parcel delivery, as a modern logistics service, is a relatively new concept which first appeared in Korea in 1992. Pabalma, a service introduced by Hanjin that benchmarked the Yamato Transport founded in Japan in 1976, marked the beginning of today’s parcel delivery service. After seeing the profitability of the parcel service, many companies jumped into the market, and the parcel delivery quickly spread across the country and into the everyday life.

Eliminating the modern logistics services, Korea’s first small parcel delivery service dates back to 1962. “Mr. Michang” is the first delivery driver and the name Michang is short for Hanguk Migok Chango (Korean Rice Warehouse), the predecessor of Korea Express at the time. The drivers transported railroad packages or moving boxes for individual customers between cargo handling centers in Seoul and Busan. The means of transportation were handcarts and cows for short distances and three-wheeled trucks for long distances.

The history of global logistics follows the history of transportation

Direct buying of foreign goods is one of the forms of logistics that have become as popular as parcel or food delivery in recent years. Items purchased directly from overseas are transported from a warehouse to another by railroads or vehicles, and are transported to another country by ships and airplanes. In the end, global logistics have progressed in line with the development of cars, trains, ships, and planes. Therefore, the history of logistics follows the order of appearance of the mode of transport, starting with ships, then to railways, cars, and airplanes.

The appearance of ships that marked the beginning of logistics dates back to the ancient civilizations. The oldest ship was made of reeds of papyrus, which was also used to make the first paper in ancient Egypt. The most recent mode of transportation is the airplane, which, as we all know, began with the Wright brothers in 1903. The first commercial airship appeared six years after the Wright brothers, in 1909, when a German airline company, DELAG, developed a passenger and cargo airship, the Zeppelin. The first international airline to use an airplane was the British airline, AT&T, in 1916.

The future of logistics with drones and robots

Today, delivery, courier, and logistics use new means that were completely unseen before. The drone is the most recent representative as many logistics companies around the world, including Amazon, are expressing strong interest in utilizing drones to deliver packages. Those companies are testing pilot services and commercialization around the globe.

Drone courier appeals to many because it can provide unprecedentedly fast delivery using the sky road instead of congested ground road. In addition, it can reduce the cost of labor and maintenance significantly as one drone pilot can operate multiple drones at the same time. As it is expected to bring logistics revolution, drone delivery will surely expand its market. While drones are leading the logistics revolution in the sky, robots are leading the logistics revolution on the ground. With the development of IoT and artificial intelligence, the use of autonomous robots is rapidly increasing. Self-driving robots, which have become popular mainly for food delivery, are accelerating in development, and the range of services is rapidly expanding since COVID-19, which gave rise to contactless delivery and social distancing.

An idea of using drones and autonomous robots to bring goods to your doorstep was a concept that was foreign to us 30 years ago, when the delivery service first started in Korea. However, it has become a matter of time, not a matter of possibility for us living in today’s world. What will be the means of delivering packages in 30 years? We will leave it up to the imagination of the readers.