Birthdays of logistics firms in 2019 show burst of innovation

A post went around social media over the New Year’s break, listing the ages in 2019 of a handful of consumer technology firms. The firms range from upstarts like the crowd-sourced, ride-hailing service Lyft (7 years) and the social network Snapchat (8 years) to stalwarts like personal computer pioneers HP (80 years) and IBM (108 years). The full list follows:

Lyft: 7 years
Snapchat: 8 years
Uber: 10 years
Twitter: 13 years
Facebook: 15 years
Tesla: 16 years
Google: 21 years
Mozilla: 21 years
Netflix: 22 years
Amazon: 25 years
Apple: 43 years
Microsoft: 44 years
Intel: 51 years
HP: 80 years
IBM: 108 years

Source: Emil Protalinski, News Editor, VentureBeat

In the spirit of that exercise, we were curious about compiling a similar list for the logistics sector. Here are the ages in 2019 of companies providing supply chain services from freight brokering to robots, shipping visibility, transportation, systems integration, material handling, and retail.

The list reveals a burst of innovative data sharing and robotics products launched on the market in the past decade, as well as impressive longevity for software providers and traditional transport platforms.

What results will a similar exercise produce in another 10 years? At the rate our industry is creating clever solutions, the answer is sure to surprise. Check back in this column in 2029 for the big reveal…

Uber Freight: 2 years
Convoy: 4 years
RightHand Robotics: 4 years
6 River Systems Inc: 4 years
FourKites: 5 years
Fetch Robotics: 5 years
Project44: 5 years
Convey: 6 years
Transfix: 6 years
10-4 Systems: 7 years
XPO Logistics Inc.: 8 years
Uber: 10 years
Echo Global Logistics: 14 years
GlobalTranz: 16 years
Intelligrated (now a unit of Honeywell): 18 years
MercuryGate International Inc.: 19 years
Amazon.com Inc.: 25 years
Manhattan Associates: 29 years
JDA Software Inc.: 34 years
CMA CGM:  41 years
FedEx Corp.: 46 years
Penske Truck Leasing Co.: 50 years
Walmart Inc.: 57 years
J.B. Hunt: 58 years
Knapp AG: 67 years
UPS Inc.: 112 years
C.H. Robinson: 114 years
A.P. Moller-Maersk: 115 years
Swisslog Logistics Automation: 119 years
Union Pacific Railroad: 157 years
BNSF Railway: 160 years
Dematic (now a unit of Kion): 200 years