Behind every successful organisation sits a logistics provider that offers essential courier services on a 24/7 basis. Without these courier services, companies may have struggled and their products may not have reached the places they do now. As to the customers’ side of the story, they may still have had to travel far to get to their desired stores or suppliers or might have to wait for days before the company, struggling with a lot of orders, would get the products to the customers’ doorsteps.
If you are curious as to how the courier industry got started, you’ve come to the right place. Here are a few facts about courier services that you probably didn’t know.
- Marathon Race – Did you know that the marathon race took its name from a very important courier? When the Greeks wanted to tell their leaders in Athens of their victory over the Persians, they sent a runner by the name of Pheidippides to run from Marathon to Athens, which is a distance of 26 miles, in order to tell the capital they were victorious. While it might not be to spread the news of winning a battle, there are times when a small business needs goods to be sent in a timely fashion; with affordable taxi truck couriers, or those reliable transport services Melbourne has running around the city, small businesses are able to provide their customers with express delivery.
- Pigeons Were The First Couriers – It is believed that the Persians used homing pigeons in 400BC, sending messages to armies, with scouts taking a few birds and when they encountered the enemy, a pigeon was released. The Middle Ages saw kings and queens keeping homing pigeons for this very purpose, with parchment attached to the bird’s foot, which was then released to fly back to its home.
- Horseback Couriers Date Back To The Medieval Period – The horse was used to send important information and this was the backbone of the US in the 19th century. European monarchs made good use of riders, who would undertake perilous journeys to deliver sealed parchments, and on occasions, they brave men were intercepted and the information got into the wrong hands, which often changed the course of history. Battles were won and lost thanks to the brave men who rode with news and they were well rewarded mostly, although there were times when the bearer of bad news literally lost his head! We no longer use horses and with a leading Melbourne courier services, packages can now safely reach their destinations.
- The Pony Express Changed The Industry – In the 19th century, the Pony Express was founded in 1852 by Wells Fargo, when a series of horses would be used to get a message from the east to west coast, which took 10 days! These riders had to ride through native Indian lands and many were scalped while trying to deliver a message; this profession was ideal for a strong, wiry teenager who wanted to risk his life on a daily basis and there were plenty of takers.
- Teenage Boys Built UPS – The largest logistics company in the US was started in 1907 by a couple of teenagers in Seattle, who mainly delivered on foot and using bicycles. From such humble beginnings, United Parcel Service is now a Fortune 100 business, which is some achievement!
Today’s logistics is far removed from the days of horse riders and homing pigeons. A Google search is all it takes to hook up with a local 3PL company who can take care of your logistics needs.