Dutch East India Company: Pioneers of Door-to-Door Shipping

  Founded in 1602, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) revolutionized global trade. The VOC was the world's first multinational corporation and the largest, wealthiest company in history. By 1669, the VOC was worth US$7.9 trillion, which was more than the net worth of modern day America's top 20 corporations combined!

In the 20th century, following in the footsteps of earlier world traders, Food World's founder, Mike Costello, traveled to over sixty five countries on six continents searching for new business opportunities. Food World now concentrates its efforts sourcing food products for sale to supermarket chains, foodservice distributors, etc. 

The Dutch East India Company was granted sovereign power by the Dutch state to coin money. Food World doesn't have the power to print its own money, but we have the financial strength to pay our vendors cash-on-the-barrelhead for their products while simutaneously extending credit to our clients so they can buy our products.

  In the 1600s, the VOC managed their inventory using realia. Realia was a system comprised of ledgers of goods stored across vast distances. These ledgers tracked inventories held at overseas trading posts, loaded aboard ships and stored in Dutch warehouses. Today, Food World uses EDI to manage its inventory moving aboard container ships and stored in USA warehouses.

Large-scale logistics were dominated by state-chartered monopolies like the VOC, who institutionalized early forwarding practices by controlling the entire supply chain -- from trading posts in the East Indies to warehouses in Amsterdam. In the 21st century, Food World coordinates port‑to‑port ocean freight with real‑time rate visibility and ocean container tracking.

VOC operated with quasi-governmental powers, allowing it to handle customs through a combination of diplomatic negotiation, military enforcement and domestic tax exemptions. Nowadays, Food World offers its clients import compliance support and coordination with customs brokers to ensure efficient product entry into the USA and other countries.

 The VOC transported goods from Dutch ports to their inland warehouses via the highly efficient network of canals, rivers and coastal waterways that characterized the Dutch Republic.  Today, Food World utilizes real‑time inland freight solutions from major international ports to any warehouse facility in the world, including lane optimization and carrier management.

 VOC's warehouses were massive,  multi-storey brick structures like the 200-yard long Oost-Indisch Zeemagazijn in Amsterdam designed to store spices, textiles and tea. In the 21st century, Food World utilizes FDA registered, temperature‑controlled warehouses with real‑time inventory visibility, lot control, cycle counting and order allocation.

Today, Food World offers door-to-door delivery service first pioneered in the 17th century by The Dutch East India Company. However, VOC lacked the technologies that now enable Food World to move food products from overseas factory floors to customer warehouses in the USA within weeks or hours rather than the years that it took VOC!

The Dutch East India Company™ name and logo are trademarks of Mike Costello.