Pacific International Lines (PIL) has used an electronic Bill of Lading (e-BL) built on the IBM Blockchain Platform in a successful real-time pilot tracking shipment of mandarin oranges from China for the Lunar New Year celebrations. With the use of the e-BL, the trial has experienced a decrease in the administrative process of transferring the title deed from five to seven days to just one second.
The company supports that it’s a major step, as the Bill of Lading is one of the most important documents in global trade, typically issued by a shipping carrier to document the title or ownership of goods.
Also, its use also is as a receipt for products and a contract of shipment.
The combination of e-BL and blockchain will help companies to decrease the documentation processing time to almost zero, along with a digital transfer of the bill lading for their cargo.
Therefore, the documentation process is automated and products are rapidly and efficiently delivered.
Specifically, Hupco Pte Ltd (Hupco), as a major importer of mandarin oranges in Singapore, took part in the trials as the consignee of 3,000 cartons of mandarin oranges (approximately 108,000 mandarin oranges).
As a result, Mr Tay Khiam Back, Chairman and CEO of Hupco noted that by using the e-BL the company had its entire shipping process simplified, transparent and cost-saving.
For this trial, Hupco benefited from collecting their goods faster with the immediate receipt of the electronic Bill of Lading.
Moreover, the company had additional advantages, as it had lower operating costs, such as electricity costs, it had real-time visibility of its documentation, and greater security as the company was aware of its documents’ place and could prevent document fraud.
IMB stated that the live trial is an important milestone because it validates how the system works in real-time conditions.
Concluding, banks could also make use of the e-BL. For instance, a similar trial from Singapore to Brunei has taken place for negotiable e-BL with key stakeholders participating including Bank of China Limited Singapore Branch.
The negotiable e-BL network establishes an extensible ecosystem which facilitates trade transactions and settlements, as the process of issuing Letter of Credit and Guarantee is enhanced
