The Birth of the First Logistics Functions in the U.S. Army During World War II

While many studies document the emergence of functions such as method and marketing, little is known about the birth of logistics. In this article, we analyse the historical moment when functions officially termed “logistics” emerged for the first time within an organization. As far as we know, this occurred in the United States army in the middle of World War II. We employ a genealogical historical approach to document the context of the emergence of logistics within the U.S. Army. The impossibility of conducting interviews requires us to turn to archival research – notably the various reports published after WWII by the U.S. Army Center of Military History. Our analysis clearly shows that U.S. forces were the first to formally include functions called “logistics” in their organizational chart. Between 1942 and 1943, these functions were incorporated in two bodies of the Army: a Logistics Group, structured within the War Plan Divisions of the War Department of the U.S. Army, and a Strategic Logistics Division, formed within the Army Service Forces – a body with the principal mission of supplying the Army. Our research highlights that several conflicts arose around the perimeter and definition of these first logistics functions. The contribution of this research is threefold; we document the emergence of the first logistics function within an organization; we bring understanding to the transformation of the concept of logistics; and we provide important detail to the literature describing the history of logistics and supply chain management (SCM).