The Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India (FFFAI), in its 24th Biennial Convention, introduced the FIATA Bill of Lading (eFBL) in India. This has been formally launched by the Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Minister of AYUSH Sh. Sarbananda Sonowal, who attended the Convention as Chief Guest.
The FIATA Paperless Bill of Lading allows the Freight-Forwarder to easily issue secured eFBL through their everyday tools (TMS and other software), facilitating the issuance process by removing double data entry. Freight-Forwarders can then decide in which format they wish to share the document with their stakeholders: as a secured printed document or in digital format.
The Negotiable FIATA Multimodal Transport Bill of Lading is a trustworthy and reputable trade document, which includes the necessity for the document issuer to be a valid FIATA/National Association member and to have a valid liability insurance. It is the only truly multimodal Negotiable Standard Bill of Lading, set up by FIATA for use by Freight-Forwarders acting as Multimodal Transport Operators (MTO).
The FIATA Paperless Bill of Lading is based on Blockchain Technology, and provides the much needed transparency, security and accountability in the supply chain.
Each paperless FBL is registered with a unique hash on a private ledger and provides for an audit trail which is accessible to all stakeholders interacting with the document, by simply scanning the unique QR code – thereby, ensuring security in the supply chain. The FIATA paperless Bill of Lading solution is open source and can be implemented by any interested software provider.
The Hon’ble Minister Sh. Sonowal stressed upon the growing importance of an IT-driven logistics industry for faster movement of cargo from manufactures to consumers across the globe. And FFFAI’s initiatives in this regard through services like eFBL would make Indian products to reach out global markets with reduced transaction times and costs, which in turn make Indian products competitive in International markets.
In a study done by the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), the estimated savings if 50% adoption of the E-Bill of Lading is achieved, will result in a $4 Billion saving annually across the globe.
Key Benefits of eFBL:
- To save time and money – Issue electronic documents within seconds and save money by avoiding costs generated by paper documents.
- To optimise the processes – Issue paperless FBLs directly from your TMS and avoid double data entry.
- To improve trust and security – Give the possibility to your stakeholders to verify at any time: the validity of the eFBL, your identity as well as the document content integrity.
- To achieve sustainability goals – Embrace a green solution, help saving paper and unnecessary courier services.
- To provide flexibility of format – Decide in which format you want to share your FBL with your stakeholders: in a paperless format (PDF) or you can always print it if needed.
