MSC’s Electronic Bill of Lading for Cargo Shippers is Coming to Serbia
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is a global leader in container shipping. The family-based company calls at 500 ports on 230+ trade routes, carrying some 23 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) annually, via a modern fleet of 600 vessels.
Being a driving force behind digitalisation and innovation in shipping, and after running successful pilot projects with customers from 2019 onwards, MSC is now using staged rollouts for its new electronic Bill of Lading (eBL) across the world, with Serbia soon to be onboarded.
MSC’s eBL enables all parties involved in a cargo shipment booking to issue, transfer, endorse and manage the bill of lading document electronically through an independent blockchain platform, without any disruption to business operations.
The application is available for shippers, importers and traders of all industries and sizes worldwide and requires no additional IT infrastructure or operational change. For more information visit www.msc.com/ebl.
Fivebenefits of going paperless
While digitalisation may sound complicated to some, it’s really just about simplifying processes and operations. The five key benefits to the eBL are:speed, simplicity, savings,security and sustainability.
The increased speed is a crucial part of the benefits. Having documents at their intended recipient in moments instead of days or weeks greatly helps logistics organisation and enables shorter payment cycles.
Simple processes are something the entire supply chain strives for. MSC aims to make its customers’ lives as easy as possible, and the eBL is one step further towards this goal. The eBL is accessible from any device or location, 24/7. The platform is user friendly, with online training sessions available for users who want to know more.
The eBL also offers significant savings. Research by the Digital Container Shipping Association (DSCA) – a neutral and non-profit association focusing on driving standardisation, digitalisation and interoperability in container shipping–indicates that with just 50% eBL adoption, the industry could save up to USD 4 billion per year. This comes in reduced courier fees, reduced workload and zero paperwork to process or store.
The safety benefits of using blockchain secured technology are critical. Secure and encrypted services help eliminate the risk of document forgery or fraud, as well as removing the potential oflosing documents. Furthermore, with automatic verification and authentication there is no risk of documents ending up in the wrong hands.
The sustainability benefits of a paperless process are evident. The eBL directly reduces the carbon footprint of everyone involved, which fits into the wider industry goals of reducing environmental impact.
Existing customers across the globe have described MSC’s eBL as easy to use and convenient, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the eBL addresses a very current need. It enables shippers to overcome border restrictions, interruptions in postal services and other pandemic-related disruptions. It also gives shippers the ability to enable employees who work remotely by dematerialising the BL.
Contact the team today to find out more
MSC Serbia, which currently offers its customers digital solutions via its official eBusiness platform myMSC to make the cargo booking process efficient and easy, will be onboarding MSC’s eBL solution in the coming months. Contact the team today (rs423-sales@msc.com) or visit www.msc.com/srb to find out more.
