INTTRA develops multi-party bill of lading

   INTTRA, an independent transactional network for ocean freight, has joined with one of the world’s top dairy exporters Fonterra to develop and deliver a standardized electronic bill of lading.
   Using the new INTTRA e-B/L (electronic bill of lading) process, the company said sellers and exporters can quicken their order-to-cash cycle, reduce days of sales outstanding, and possibly save money through a projected reduction in courier and discrepancy fees. The INTTRA e-B/Ls service also gives buyers faster access to goods.
   The company said its new offering can impact more than 15 million ocean shipments a year that currently use couriers for delivery of paper bills of lading.
   INTTRA said its network of carriers, shippers, and freight forwarders, in conjunction with SWIFT and Bolero, have produced connections with 10,000 SWIFT member banks and 45 Bolero-enabled trade finance banks.
   Bolero is a neutral third party that provides a legally secure platform for delivering paperless trading between buyers, sellers, financial institutions and logistics services across the globe. SWIFT is a third-party platform that supports sending documents between banks.
   The companies claim this standardized e-documentation as an industry first.
   “This solution involves very little operational change for trading partners and so is quick to deploy,” said Connie Leung, director of payments and trade markets for SWIFT Asia Pacific.  “Process savings from electronic document presentation help to shorten the supply chain, reduce days sales outstanding and free up working capital.”