Source: New York Board of Trade
The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (NYMEX), and the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), announced today that the two exchanges have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore the possible use of the NYBOT eCOPS for NYMEX commodities.
The NYBOT's electronic commodity operations system, an electronic platform which fully automates deliveries of commodities, now handles Exchange coffee and cocoa deliveries.
Most commodity industries have logistically complex and far-reaching supply chains that require significant numbers of manually processed document presentations. The eCOPS handles electronic versions of warehouse receipts, delivery orders, sampling orders, weight notes, invoices, and insurance declarations. Other electronic documentation capabilities including a bill of lading are being developed.
The eCOPS has already provided extensive electronic documentation for coffee deliveries both on and off the Exchange, and cocoa deliveries are currently coming online. The process begins with the conversion of a paper warehouse receipts to an eCOPS Electronic Warehouse Receipt (EWR). The eCOPS team assists holders of paper warehouse receipts for Exchange commodities in the process of changeover to the EWR format. Once the conversion is complete paper receipts are no longer used for Exchange delivery.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated eCOPS as the first official "Provider" of Electronic Warehouse Receipts (EWR) for coffee under the United States Warehouse Act on November 13, 2003, and on January 22, 2004, the NYBOT first transferred coffee delivery to eCOPS.