Electronic bills of lading a step closer with standardised framework
26 February 2025
The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) has finalised its standardised framework for digitised bookings and bills of lading (B/Ls), which it hopes will speed up adoption and bring in a new era of interconnected trade.
The new Booking 2.0 and Bill of Lading 3.0 standards promise to overcome one of the major hurdles to digitalising B/Ls – that of standardisation – by ensuring that no one platform provider can become a gatekeeper for the technology.
The new standards have also incorporated some 190 new attributes in order to comply with European Import Control System 2 (ICS2) standards.
“We are thrilled to launch the final versions of our booking and bill of lading standards, ensuring seamless data exchange across all industry participants,” said DCSA CEO Thomas Bagge. “These advancements will not only cut costs through automation and reduced manual processing, but also set the foundation for a more interoperable and efficient global shipping ecosystem.”
A survey by the Future of International Trade (FIT) Alliance in September and October found worldwide adoption of electronic B/Ls had increased since 2022.
Meanwhile, dual-format users, of both electronic and paper B/Ls, increased from 28% in 2022 to 41.7% in 2024.
According to research by McKinsey, benefits of standardised trade documents include some $6bn in cost reduction, significantly reduced carbon emissions from the cost of shipping paper around the world, usually by air, and as much as $40bn in trade growth.
But efforts to digitise B/Ls have been hampered by a lack of interoperability, with differing standards between regulatory regimes, countries, and ports.
To overcome this, explained Mr Bagge, DCSA developed its new standards with input from a wide range of parties to ensure the format retains the required information to suit their needs, adding: “This couldn’t have been possible without close collaboration with our valued members and the broader global community of shippers, governments, freight forwarders, carriers, and operational partners.”
A standardised format for electronic B/Ls is essential to avoid ‘platform lock-in’ – whereby a proprietary programme developed by one platform provider, such as Microsoft, Adobe, or Apple, becomes a new ‘industry standard’, creating a monopoly that increases costs for all users.
In interviews with The Loadstar, Mr Bagge has described the need for a format of electronic documents similar to e-mail – a message format which can be opened by any e-mail programme, on any operating system. Likewise, DCSA has worked to design electronic booking and B/L documents which could be exchanged between any two platforms.
“Digital documents change hands multiple times in any given transaction, and a walled-garden approach would ultimately result in less uptake,” Mr Bagge told The Loadstar.
DCSA’s new standards also incorporate a digital signature mechanism, designed to ease many of the industry’s misgivings over cybersecurity.
Although paper B/Ls are hardly immune to fraud or forgery, security concerns have been one of the leading barriers to eB/L adoption, according to FIT Alliance research.
Kindly supplied by The Loadstar
Chamber International speaks the language of export and import, and can assist in any queries you may have on trade matters. Enquire now.
Follow Chamber International on Twitter @ChamberInt and on Facebook for the latest in international trade.
