In light of the COVID-19 quarantine and lockdown measures, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) will further accelerate efforts to boost an electronic Bill of Lading (e-BL) across the shipping sector.
Namely, the company informed that has been running a pilot initiative along with its third-party blockchain platform WAVE, to promote electronic bill of lading (e-BL) solution in India since 2019.
We have been working with WAVE on introducing and piloting an e-BL solution since 2019. We ran successful pilot projects with some of our customers last year, where we saw first-hand the benefits which arise from digitalising this part of the process. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we decided to accelerate our roll-out and offer the e-BL solution to our broader base of customers.
…explains Capt. Deepak Tewari.
According to MSC, the electronic bill of lading (e-BL) solution enabled its customers to continue shipping goods despite COVID-19 restrictions, by providing a reliable, and secure digital platform for the fast transfer of trade-related documents.
As part of its response to the outbreak and in order to ensure business continuity, the company is now accelerating efforts for a wide adoption of the digital solution throughout the country.
With MSC’s e-BL solution, BL transit time can be reduced from days to minutes, without the need for physical contact.
Specifically, the e-BL is sent using WAVE’s blockchain-based system, which uses distributed ledger technology to ensure that all parties can issue, transfer, endorse and manage trade-related documents through a secure, decentralised network.
The protocol is approved by the International Group of Protection & Indemnity Clubs and meets the highest industry standards for security and privacy.
Our mission since founding WAVE has been to transform the efficiency and security of international trade documentation through our robust digitisation protocol. It couldn’t come at a more critical time as countries rely on trade to fight COVID-19 and save their economies. We launched this unique onboarding effort to help MSC swiftly onboard stakeholders and navigate the challenges while preparing the carrier to flourish once conditions normalise.
…Gadi Ruschin, CEO at WAVE, concluded.
