On Foot to Pigeons to Vans: The Role of the Courier

On Foot to Pigeons to Vans: The Role of the Courier

When it comes to delivering packages and important documents couriers are most certainly the predominant method used today. But this process of transferring important documents and messages is not a new one. In fact this has been undertaken since the earliest days of civilization whether it was kings passing messages to other kings or ordinary people exchanging messages amongst themselves.

Some of the earliest courier methods used including carrier pigeons that were specifically bred to fly home. Messages were wrapped to the pigeon's leg before it was released in to the wild. This form of couriering has been dated to well over 3000 years ago and was used by both the Egyptians and the Persians.

Runners were another method of courier that was widely used in numerous ancient cultures. Runners in the traditional sense were individuals who were dispatched from one area with a message or parcel. An area in this case could be within a town, a neighbouring town or even a city. Societies that have used such couriers include Native American Tribes and most notably the Greeks. However runners also played a part in the military especially in World War I where a runner would deliver messages from the commander to the troops as radios weren't available everywhere.

Today the role of couriers has been reduced to carrying parcels and important documents while their scope is much larger. The reason for this is the spread of technology that has created alternate avenues for exchanging of messages and even many printed documents in addition to the fact that many transactions can now be done through the internet. At the same time technology has allowed continents.

In the earliest days of modern courier services, tracking parcels and the movement of courier drivers was extremely difficult. The only information the courier company could pass on was that the package had left the company or finally had been delivered. This trend would eventually disappear with the adoption of radio in addition to the invention of the mobile phone.

Today packages can be tracked easily as most courier companies offer online parcel tracking that provides a hassle free and accurate way to track the position of your parcel. While the role of couriers as messengers has largely diminished, their role as parcels carriers does not seem set to go away anytime soon. No one can say what further technological developments may do to the courier industry.

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