IBM Global Logistics in Italy circa 1951-1960

http://www.iienet2.org/Blogger.aspx?category=Supply%20Chains%20Are%20Cool&blogid=612&about=10328

I recently came across the following photos that illustrate how IBM shipped its mainframes to clients in various parts of Italy between 1951-1960.

Obviously, this was shot in Venice, Italy. I’m not sure what type of mainframes are in the two crates (I am guessing anIBM 650), which weighed nearly 2,000 pounds and rented for $3200 per month. Just a little risky putting two of them on a wooden gòndola, don’t ya think? I would have loved to see how they loaded them on and how they planned to take them off.

Again, not sure what is in the crate or where in Italy this was shot. But I appreciate the fact that its being delivered on a wheelbarrow. I wonder how many wheelbarrow’s FedEx, UPS and DHL have in their fleet. You can’t make it out in this resolution, but in the middle of the crate it reads “Do not drop.” Classic.

This would make a great poster illustrating really bad supply chain security. TheIBM 7070 was a data processing system that hit the market in 1960 and it cost back then $813,000. So you gotta love the fact that IBM is not only advertising what is inside the trucks, but also where they are going “Banco di Napoli.” To their credit, there probably were only a few dozen people in Italy in the 1960s who actually knew what to do with that 7070, but still not something we would ever promote in this day and age. Though, if would be great to live in a world where we could. The logistics carrier is a company called Barghi or Borghi, I can’t really tell from the logo, but both come up empty in Google and Yahoo.