Dutch East India Company: Creator of Door-to-Door Service

  Founded in 1602, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) revolutionized global trade. The VOC was the world's first multinational corporation and the largest and 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 late 20th century, following in the footsteps of earlier world traders, Food World's founder, Mike Costello, traveled to over sixty five countries on five continents searching for new business opportunities. Food World now concentrates its efforts selling private label food products to supermarket chains, 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 currency , but we have the financial strength to pay our vendors cash-on-the-barrelhead for their products while simultaneously providing extended credit terms to our valued customers.

  In the 1600s, the VOC managed their inventory using realia, which was a system comprised of ledgers listing goods stored over 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.

International logistics were dominated by monopolies like the Dutch East India Company, who institutionalized early forwarding practices by controlling the entire supply chain -- from their  trading posts in the East Indies to their warehouses back in Amsterdam. Food World now coordinates ocean freight for its customers utilizing real‑time rate visibility and ocean container tracking.

Operating with quasi-government powers, The Dutch East India Company handled customs clearance through a combination of diplomatic negotiation, military enforcement and domestic tax exemptions. Nowadays, Food World offers its customers import document compliance, duty drawback assistance and coordination with customs brokers to ensure efficient entry into the USA.

 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 in Amsterdam were huge, multi-storey brick structures. Some were 200-yards long and were designed to store spices, textiles, tea and other delicacies  "extracted" from the East Indies. Food World now utilizes FDA registered & temperature controlled warehouses with real‑time inventory visibility and B2B & B2C order fulfillment capabilities.

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 sometimes even within hours rather than the years that it took VOC!

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