Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution created the mass-produced goods, factories, and freight volumes that modern logistics exists to move. Textile machines such as the spinning jenny, water frame, and power loom, together with James Watt's improved steam engine, patented in 1769, let one mill turn out far more cloth than home workers could. Canals and then railways were built to bring in coal and raw cotton and carry finished goods out. Inventory, storage, and freight became problems of scale for the first time, the same problems that distribution and fulfillment centers manage today.

• ThroughputWork completed per hour or per day
• Distribution CenterDCWarehouse that ships cases and pallets
• Conveyor SystemBelts and rollers that move totes and cartons

• Oliver Evans1755–1819 · Builder of the first automated mill
• George Stephenson1781–1848 · Railway engineer and locomotive builder

• Venetian Arsenalc. 1104 · Venice builds galleys from standardized parts
• Bridgewater Canal1761 · A canal carries coal from Worsley mines to Manchester
• The Wealth of Nations1776 · Adam Smith argues for division of labor and free trade

• Repeal of the Corn Laws1846 · 1846 UK repeal of grain tariffs that began free trade

1. Industrial Revolution key facts britannica.com
2. Textile manufacture during the British Industrial Revolution en.wikipedia.org