Dropshipping wasn’t exactly invented, actually, it evolved into what it is today from when it started in the 70s.
Dropshipping started when two of the most popular retail brands today, JCPenney and Sears, built the first fulfillment warehouses in the USA (what Amazon calls today FBA – Fulfilment by Amazon) at the end of the 70s.
Then another company called CompuCard realized what a great opportunity would be to use these warehouses, so they began to add items from the warehouses to their mail-order catalog for a mark-up price.