Industrialization: genesis

Abstract

Our overarching focus in this book is the three-way interactions between technological development, the evolution of logistics and supply chain operations, and changes in consumer purchasing behaviour over the past six decades. We contend that the cause of this dynamic is rooted in industrialization. The evolutionary journey of logistics and supply chain operations, as a practice and an academic discipline, began with mechanization, which triggered the first industrial revolution. This chapter explores the broad linkages between industrialization, technological innovations and demand for goods and services (an indication of consumption) as manufacturing moved through four industrial revolutions - Industry 1.0, Industry 2.0, Industry 3.0, and Industry 4.0. Through an analysis of the production-consumption cycles between industrialization, technological innovations and the demand for goods and services over four industrial revolutions, this chapter has found that economic growth has been the key feature of the entire disruptive process of one technological mode supplanting another. This recurrent feature has spawned different manifestations of the middle class from its origins in Britain through the 'American Dream' and the new rich in Asia to a global version encompassing generations X, Y and Z. The transformative effect of the resultant middle class upon the surge in consumer demand across Industry 1.0-4.0 has ranged through goods, specialized goods, fashion goods and associated services to global goods and delivery services. Apart from reinforcing economic growth, this demand shift has propelled new and different ways of competing, giving rise to technological innovations in manufacturing and information and communications technology, operations processes, and logistics and supply chain capabilities.