Justin Braford
This is the summary of an article about the beginnings of supply chain management. In 1915, a man named Arch Wilkinson Shaw, published a 119-page business book covered in cloth. After he published his book, Harvard grew interest in hiring him as a professor. Once he was at Harvard he created a new book, Some Problems in Market Distribution, which became the first ever book about supply chain management.
Shaw described in his book, "the most pressing problem in business today, is systematically to study distribution." Shaw is talking about both marketing of the good and the actual physical distribution of the good. The book delivered plenty of good business strategies on how to succeed in both of these aspects.
Bud La Londe is a former professor of logistics at the Ohio State University. He received his master's degree in business administration from Michigan State University in 1961. He is known as one of the first degree holders in the new field of "physical distribution." He claimed the book was the top supply chain management from when it was created, all the way up to 1976, it's last reprint.
Shaw created several other books, all relating to the business industry. Many high level professors of supply chain say the field has came a long way, but is continually evolving. Although the field has changed quite drastically, Shaw's book still remains relevant to this day. This is why many refer the Shaw as the "Adam Smith of supply chain management."
Smith, Jeremy N. "The Adam Smith of supply chain management." World Trade, Sept. 2006, p. 62.
That is very interesting that something as large as supply chain and marketing can be traced back to the written thoughts of one man. How do the ideas in the book relate or differ from what would those fields entail today? Has any ideas evolved since then into more modern-day concepts? For an example, my microeconomic class uses everyday examples like pizza and car industries to better explain the material, but I bet if I found a microeconomic book from over 100 years ago, the material would be much more serious and in depth.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment! I believe you would see similarities but many differences. With the education and technology we have today, a lot has changed.
DeleteThis is a unique way to talk about supply chain and marketing's history. It can really attract me who is a history lover. Also, what you quote makes the content much more reliable. Although your content is okay, if you can add a picture in it, I think it would be better.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment and constructive criticism, we will definitely take this into account when cleaning up/editing or blog! The expertise of someone definitely comes into account when taking in information and deciding to follow up or trust it.
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