Dutch East India Company (VOC)

The VOC pioneered the investor-funded trading company, raising permanent capital from the public through tradable shares to pay for ships, forts, and warehouses years before cargo came home. Formed by merging rival Dutch firms, it received a 21-year monopoly on Asian trade and became one of the first joint-stock companies, with shares traded on the market that became the Amsterdam stock exchange. Corruption, smuggling, and rising costs led to its collapse, and the Dutch state took over its assets after 1799. The long gap between paying for inventory and getting paid for it is the cash conversion cycle importers still manage.

• Cash Conversion CycleCCCDays from paying suppliers to getting paid
• Carrying CostTotal cost of holding inventory over time
• In-Transit InventoryStock on its way between locations

• English East India Company1600–1874 · A chartered company trades with Asia, then rules India
• Hudson's Bay Company Charter1670 · Charles II grants a fur trade monopoly over Hudson Bay
• Port of Rotterdam as World's Busiest Port1962–2004 · Rotterdam leads the world in cargo for four decades

1. Dutch East India Company en.wikipedia.org