Introduction

The economists continue to emphasize on the scarcity of resources claiming that the world’s resources are limited while the human needs are unlimited. In addition to this concept, there is the issue of geographical scarcity of resources which makes some regions in work to be rich in some resources which could be lacking in other regions[ CITATION Par18 \l 1033 ]. The imbalance in resources availability and the scarcity of resources in some regions leads to the need for transporting goods from one area to another. One of the main channels that are used to get the goods to the intended destination is the international shipping. Through international shipping, the goods to be transported are organized and packed to create packages or parcels that are transported through a shipping service provider to the required destination around the world[ CITATION Pau161 \l 1033 ]. The method had played a critical analysis role in enabling the availability of certain goods in areas that they were not present before and allowed people in that region to enjoy the services provided by the particular good. An example is the development of factories that will require the use of raw materials from another country. The organizations are forced to seek the shipping services in the areas and get them shipped to their factory through the shipping services. Despite the service offering high quality and enabling many organizations to achieve its goals, many developments have taken place in the shipping industry and other factors that influence the operations[ CITATION Den17 \l 1033 ]. There is a need to analyze therefore the industry and the different perspectives that have been used as well as project the future developments of the industry.

The development of the current shipping process can be traced in the early 1950s after the Second World War, and it is said to have been triggered by the need to trade between different countries mainly the colonies[ CITATION Bas171 \l 1033 ]. The rate of transportation of items during this period was however seen to be low and to constitute only 5% of what is currently being transported[ CITATION Don172 \l 1033 ]. The shipping was done through containers which were established by Clara McLean during that period, and he became the first person to attempt international shipping using the containers. The containers, however, were prone to wear and tear, and in most cases, they took longer to reach the destination while some of the products got spoilt during the haulage. The containers were loaded by men who were paid a little amount to fill the containers, and the shipping money was paid once the items were in the sea. There were, however, issues affecting the process since most items were disorganized and in most cases when they reached the destination the members had to incur more work offloading and assembling the items which were time-consuming.

After this period there was major inflation in the oil prices which led to a high increase in the shipping prices. The number of people seeking the services reduced drastically, and the industry was in most cases seen to be on the fluctuation. The concept, however, was resolved in the 1960s, and there was the development of trade between many nations. The regulations that were put in place during this period included the monetary policies and trade policies that were developed following the inflated fuel prices[ CITATION Int04 \l 1033 ]. There were however notable developments in the containers used in the shipping process to allow more goods to be transported and to reach the destination safely and soundly. The transportation process took longer in some places taking as long as more than a month for the goods to get to the destination. There was growth in the shipping industry which was fostered by the developing trade between different countries.

The development of information technology in the 1990s and the development of sound policies between different states had a great impact on the industry. The concept of information technology paved the way for sharing of information and opened up the world making it a global village[ CITATION Val17 \l 1033 ]. Communication was fostered between different countries, and most people were able to know about the products that were available in other countries through the internet. Increased communication made it easier for people to seek services from other countries which led to the development of the shipping industry to incorporate not only the raw material for industries but also other personal products ordered by other clients. There was improved interaction, improved trade, communication, and migration of people from one state to another which fostered sharing of items between states. The growth in this period was significant constituting up to 35% of the current items shipped in the world[ CITATION Pet111 \l 1033 ]. There were more trade routes developed and effective channels as well as companies that started to transport the goods between states. Moreover, during this period, there was the development of other areas such as transport means and the methods of loading and offloading with the loading men being replaced with machinery.

In the era of the internet and the development of more advanced web-based communication systems in the year 2007, the service improvement in the area was also seen to advance significantly[ CITATION Uni10 \l 1033 ]. More orders were coming from all over the world, and people could make inquiries about the developments in the shipping process. For instance, instant communication was made on the real-time development, and someone could know the exact time that the items have been shipped and the time in which they arrive at the destination. The world was seen to be becoming smaller with people receiving updates from all areas of the world just at the same rate as they could receive them in their local country[ CITATION Man12 \l 1033 ]. The development was appreciated, and more companies shipping products were established during this period following the ease of tracing the products and clients. There was a substantial increase in the number of individual items shipped and included even the smaller objects

The development led to the development of trading activities globally by 6% by the end of the year 2008[ CITATION Mac13 \l 1033 ]. There was the development of international partner organizations as well as mergers and multinational organizations. Some companies realized the imbalance in the labor cost and resulted in offshoring some of their services while others found new markets for their products and therefore opened branches in the countries and used the shipping services to transport the goods into those market. Companies could now find it easy to establish themselves in any area worldwide since the distance was reduced significantly. The advancement in technology also reduced the time frame in which the products moved from one country to another to between one and three weeks[ CITATION Mad13 \l 1033 ]. The information about the products was documented and the individual to receive the items knew the exact day they expect their products. Security for the items as also enhanced and more sophisticated personal identification methods were used before the person receives the parcel.

Currently, with the advancement in the technology of both transport and communication method, there has been several advancements in the shipping industry and increased demand for the services. The current technology has allowed the development of organizations that produce their products and ship them to the customers when they purchase. The service also has been advanced to include payments on a delivery system where one does not need to pay for the items on the purchase and have them delivered instead they are delivered, and payment is made later. The increased use of electronic money transfer has contributed to globalization, and in the current era, people can purchase whatever they need from their country of choice and have them shipped to their doorstep. The shopping services and the new developments in communication technology have led to the advancement of the economy for many nations making the manufacturers produce more items knowing that they can appeal to the global market.

Despite the increase in the number of people seeking the shipping services globally following the development of electronic money transfer, transport and communication systems, and the industry also faces some challenges. For instance, the current rate of competition in the industry is high which has affected the profitability of the shipping organization. More institutions are being established each day to offer the services leading to a challenge in the business[ CITATION Mai13 \l 1033 ]. Despite this, the competition has played a critical role in balancing the prices of the service as more organizational behaviour come up the competition stiffens leading to organizations looking for mechanisms to stand out of the competition. One of the strategies used by the emerging companies in the market penetration strategy which has resulted in a reduction of the haulage prices by a huge margin[ CITATION Mic161 \l 1033 ].

Value addition to the services has also been prominent as people try to outsmart their competitors. In this perspective, some shipping companies have established mechanisms that will enable the client to monitor the orders and get real-time information about the shipping process for some goods[ CITATION Pau161 \l 1033 ]. On the other hand, other organizations have developed mechanisms to ensure that the delivery of the items comes to the person doorstep. The huge development has also been developed since the client can have more control over how the items are going to be handled during the transportation. In this regard depending on the item being shipped and the time in which they are required the client can choose whether the items to be transported by air, road, or sea. The service provides more convenience to the client since they will choose the service that will serve them best. A shorter transport period can also be actualized based on the agreement with the shipping organization[ CITATION Pio15 \l 1033 ]. Though there has been a high increase in the number of people seeking the shipping services, there has been a balance between the number of companies and the clients which makes the services better.

The current rate of development in technology gives a promising look in the future logistics in the shipping environment. There is the emergence of new devices each day as technology advances which makes it necessary to adjust the strategies employed in the organization of shipping practices. For instance, it is expected in the future that there will be the development of digital sensing devices that will enable the client to have a view of the items as they are being transported from the area of request to the destination. The person in the destination will also have information about the proceedings and be able to plan on how to receive the products making the process easier[ CITATION Ins13 \l 1033 ]. The current advocacy for the environmental sustainability issues and global warming concerns gives an implication that there will be the development of greener shipping processes that could include the use of solar or wind-powered devices which will help reduce the rate of environmental pollution making the shipping process environmentally friendly[ CITATION Yub17 \l 1033 ]. It is also expected that in the future there will be the development of the larger shipping devices that will be used to transport more items per unit time at a faster rate to take care of the increasing demand for the shipping services following the improvement in technology[ CITATION Anz16 \l 1033 ]. The cost of shipping is also expected to reduce with globalization since most shipping companies will have established warehouses in most parts of the world to facilitate the transportation mechanism thereby reducing the storage cost.

Overall, shipping is a practice that originated long ago and has been improving from one generation to another. The improvement found in the shipping industry is as a result of advancement in technology in different sectors such as transport and communication which affect the shipping industry. The main driving factor for the development of shipping business is trade and globalization which increases interaction and enables people to transact within long distances. The current shipping technology is highly advanced with some organizations manufacturing products and delivering them to the clients’ doorstep as facilitated by technological advancement. Despite the growth and development of many clients in the industry competition is real in the current time and with the old organizations having the advantage of an established market share and the new ones employing sophisticated techniques to penetrate the market. The current development, however, is not at peak, and some future expectations in the industry are also expected to include factors such as digital sensing which will ensure real-time monitoring of the proceedings of the requested orders by the client. Reduction of the storage cost and delivery time amongst other developments to make the industry more attractive.

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