Supply Chain of East India Company

The British East India Company was incorporated by royal charter on December 31, 1600.
With the decree of Queen Elizabeth I, the company started to operate and consequently
reaped vast profits from overseas trade with India, China, Persia, and Indonesia for more
than two centuries. The business domination of EIC flooded England with tea, cotton textiles
and spices that were sourced from the Asian continent and it ran a monopoly. Now, the
strong support to the staggering business success of the company had been to its rigorous
supply chain network. Below is a visual representation of the supply chain network of East
India Company.

Figure: Trade Route of East India Company

The main mode of transport was by ship during the British rule in the Indian subcontinent.
Madras, and Kolkata were the prime hubs of revenues and goods transportation where
through the Bay of Bengal and across the Indian Ocean, the shipments containing spices,
cotton, etc. would be sent off for storage in London. Surat happened to be the first base for
the East India Company in India. Hence, the trade routes would also be diversified across
the Indian Ocean and South China Sea to China for collecting Tea from the region and
sending them in shipments away to London. So, the channel of ship vessel used were the
South China Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Arabian sea transcended into the Indian Ocean
and across the Atlantic Ocean to the state of London.