We are truly living in an exciting era, with the digital explosion that has revolutionised the way we live, and in a very short time, we have made remarkable strides. If we take a look at the logistics industry, for example, we can see some really dramatic changes in just half a century, which isn’t a long time at all.
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The Swinging Sixties
Fifty years ago, there was no such thing as the Internet, we hadn’t even discovered mobile phones, and if you ordered something large at a retail store, it would be delivered within a few days by the national delivery system, which was called the Post Office. Communication is one area that has seen tremendous developments since the digital revolution began, and who would have thought that the simple use of zeros and ones would enable data to be transmitted through thin air?
The 1980s
This was the period when the Internet emerged, although in the early days, there was no such thing as e-commerce, and the World Wide Web was used primarily to access information. The Internet, and particularly computer hardware was in a constant state of development, with faster CPUs and larger data storage devices, and data transfer started to become very fast.
The Millenium
Year 2000 was a time when many people thought computers would be disrupted by the introduction of a new century and Y2K was a real concern, with millions of online users who had their fingers crossed at the date rolled over to the year 2000. This was the time for the emergence of cell phones and e-commerce began to arrive, and online data security became an issue.
Enter Third Party Logistics
In the years from 2000 – 2010, the world saw an amazing technical explosion, and with the exponential growth of e-commerce came the need for third-party logistics, and with specialists such as FCB Logistics, who are based in Queensland, all of your logistical needs can be handled with ease. More and more people realised the benefits of online shopping, and despite a few years of data security concerns, e-commerce websites offered comprehensive protection for online consumers, which was all it took to convince those who were reluctant to give their credit card details over the Internet that online transactions are safe.
Consignment Tracking
One of the major benefits if online shopping is that you can easily find out exactly where your goods are, with GPS technology, all packages can be tracked, and with logistic companies that have created global networks, packages can be delivered to any address in the world, no matter how remote they might be.
The Online Retailer
Not so many years ago, starting your own business required some major resources, yet today, almost anyone can set up an e-commerce website, and with the help of third-party logistics, all their packaging and deliveries can be carried out by a specialist. There are more self-employed people now than ever before, as people realise the potential that setting up your own business offers, and with an ever expanding 3PL industry, online retailers can offer a top-notch service with having the resources for logistics, thanks to the 3PL provider.