With the Industrial Revolution, the world changed forever… and so did logistics. At the end of the 18th century, the invention of the steam engine and the mechanization of production processes boosted the capacity to manufacture goods. But producing more wasn’t enough: this new abundance of products had to be moved quickly, safely, and profitably.
Thus arose the need for more systematic logistics.
The first railroads connected industrial centers with ports and cities, revolutionizing land transportation. For the first time, raw materials and finished products could travel long distances in just a few hours, something unthinkable just a few years earlier.
Warehouses also evolved. From simple depots, they became distribution hubs, capable of managing large volumes, with increasingly complex incoming and outgoing flows.
Furthermore, the telegraph brought with it real-time communication, making it possible to coordinate deliveries and routes like never before. It was the seed of modern logistics: speed, efficiency, and coordination.
Did you know?
The first commercial railway line opened in 1825 in England. In just 50 years, trains were traveling across Europe, the United States, and much of Asia, shaping a new era of transportation.
The 19th century laid the foundations for logistics as we understand it today: interconnected, strategic, and serving economic growth.
In the next chapter, we’ll discuss how the great wars of the 20th century forced further refinements in logistics systems, promoting technologies and processes that would later be transferred to the civilian world.
And remember: today you don’t need a steam train to move your goods. At STM Logística, we have modern, efficient, and customized solutions. Discover them here:
