As long as there have been people on the planet, there have been packages passing back and forth between them. Packages were how cultures communicated, working together to advance each other through trade. But, then as now, once cargo left the village, it was difficult to ensure that it made it to its destination.
Paleo-package tracking (What do you have in there, rocks?)
12,000 BCE. The earliest packages traveled distances up to 560 miles from southwest Asia to the Mediterranean, carrying obsidian to make knives and tools. Package tracking technology: Word of mouth – and possibly cave paintings.
All Roads Lead to Rome
100 CE. The Roman empire’s trade caravans worked like a German train – On time, all the time, unless they were delayed by crushing bandits. Their transportation network featured the latest technology – roads – which helped a lot to secure trade routes. They also kept great records in wax tablets and papyrus, much like package tracking manual processes in many corporate mail centers today.
Pirates and the Spice Trade
1700 CE. The Dutch East India Company ran a tight ship, several in fact. As the first multinational corporation in the world, and the first to issue stock, it was a power to be reckoned with. You would think that the biggest threats to their profitability would be foul weather and piracy on the high seas, but no – it was a lack of adequate package tracking. While they kept careful records in giant ye olde log books, they couldn’t predict just how many packages of spices would arrive from the East at any given time, which would either drive up the price (if the supply was low), or cause prices to crash.
The Pony Express
1860 CE. If a pony could carry it, it could be shipped from Missouri all the way to California via a series of 157 relay stations that stretched over the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. While they had postmarks for tracking packages, their primary mode of ensuring mail made the trip was by locking the mail bag. Despite the lack of package tracking, deliveries usually took just 10 days, and only one mail delivery was ever lost (although one mail bag took two years to arrive to its destination thanks to a war with the natives).
Computerized Package Tracking
2014 CE. With more packages whizzing around the world than ever before, organized package tracking procedures have developed with computers to let you know where your parcel is, every step of the way. With smart labels, UPS and USPS provide real-time updates every time a package lands in a processing center.
Package Tracking with EZTrackIt
The postal service tracks packages to your front desk, but what happens afterwards? This is where EZTrackIt comes in to provide fast and easy internal package tracking for housing and corporate mail rooms. Eliminate lost packages in your organization, improve the credibility of your mail room, and alert recipients by text or email when their package has arrived.
Package tracking has come a long way, and we’re here to bring it in to the future.
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