Prof. Monika Dommann x AG-stoen: Global Logistics

Without logistics, our daily lives would grind to a halt. Without logistics, globalisation wouldn’t exist. But what do we mean when we talk about “logistics”? Why has logistics become the central focus throughout globalisation and the digitalisation of trade?

To answer these questions, Prof. Monika Dommann researched the 19th century, when nobody talked about logistics in these terms. With the advent of mass production and intercontinental telegraphy, the first railroad lines being established and the rising use of steamboats for shipping, international trade grew and became more predictable in terms of time and space.

But it was simple things — like pictograms, shipping pallets, or high-bay warehouses, the knowledge of material flow engineers, and the mindset of thinking in supply chains — that made it possible for raw materials and goods to be produced and delivered just-in-time across great distances.The visions of engineering became increasingly visible in cities and landscapes throughout the 20th century. But logistics holds more than just the visions of engineers. By now, it should have dawned on all of us that we are already deeply embedded in logistical practices — as the final link in supply chains — and actively involved in them.

In March 2021, the world came to a standstill — triggered by a single container ship that blocked the Suez Canal. What seemed like an isolated incident quickly had global repercussions: supply chains faltered, markets wavered. It became strikingly clear how fragile the web of global logistics truly is.

Fragile choke points as warning signals — expressed in the universal language of logistics.

Prof. Dr. Monika Dommann –  Professor for Modern History and -Head of the Dommann Chair at the Department of History, University of Zurich
AG-stoen - Studio for stage and costume deisgn (Helen Stein and Magdalena Schön)

Produced by MRC Knitwear in Italy with Biella Yarn.