Better late than never? Not in the world of logistics.

Logistics was first mentioned in the book - Art of War by Sun Tzu. A translated line from the book reads “The line between disorder and order lies in logistics…”

The Roman Legion’s ability to march fast and far is owed to efficiently organized Supply trains. These supply trains had repair shops and service corps of engineers, artificers, armorers, and other technicians. Supplies were requisitioned from local authorities and stored in fortified depots; labor and animals were drafted as required.

The Mongol army's logistics system was based on austerity, discipline, careful planning & organization. Their strategy relied on living off the land and the people who dwelt there. So, routes & campsites were selected for accessibility to good grazing & food crops.

In one such approach march, a Mongol army covered 290km in 3 days!

Railroads, Steamships & Telegraph revolutionized the speed & accuracy of strategic, long-distance communications. Requisition and information regarding time and place of delivery could be relayed much faster.

Up until the 1960s to 1970s, most record-keeping was done manually.

The arrival of computers revolutionized logistics planning, inventory management, and optimization of truck routing. Personal Computers & the Internet furthered this data revolution.

Enterprise Resource Systems (ERP)

By the 1990s, lots of data existed in separate databases.

To integrate these data sources, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems were developed. These systems were capable of integrating multiple data sources, improving data accuracy, and assisting in materials and logistics planning.

Growth of manufacturing, globalization & rapid development of technology led to widespread recognition of the term “Supply Chain”.

Supply chain management encompasses strategy, planning, and execution of flow of goods, services, and information, with logistics being an integral part of this process.