After launching the initiative last June, DCSA (Digital Container Shipping Association), the association of major carriers MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, ONE, Evergreen, Yang Ming, HMM and ZIM, having launched the initiative “the dematerialization of the bill of lading” has published, the first standards relating to the issue of the digital ‘bill of lading’.
“These standards – specified the DCSA itself – are aligned with the model developed by the United Nations for the facilitation of Global Trade. The first publication contains the useful elements for the digitization of end-to-end container shipping documentation, starting from the bill of lading. The objective of the initiative is to facilitate the adoption and acceptance of an electronic bill of lading (eBL) by authorities, credit institutions and insurance companies, standardizing the communication codes between these and the carriers and parties. involved in a commercial transaction”.
The first four standards are thus available on the official DCSA website, while the operational interface will be available next January.
“The digitization of documentation, starting from the bill of lading, is fundamental for the simplification of global trade – observes Thomas Bagge, CEo of DCSA – The agreement reached between the carriers is a milestone on this path: the dematerialization of documents will represent an advantage for all parties involved in terms of cost reduction, customer satisfaction, growth, innovation and sustainability. We invite all interested parties to collaborate with us on the optimization of these standards”.
“The pandemic has made digitization very urgent – continues Oswald Kuyler, director of the Digital Standars Initiative at the International Chamber of Commerce – and the standardized eBL is the cornerstone of this transformation: global carriers have accepted this challenge”.
According to research by the DCSA, the cost of processing the paper document “is almost 3 times higher than the dematerialized version. At a global economic growth rate of 2.4% through 2030, as estimated by the OECD, this industry could save up to $ 4 billion a year if the digital policy is adopted at least in 50% of cases. In the aviation sector, the eBL was introduced in 2010 and after 10 years, it was adopted in over 68% of shipments “.
