The transaction was the first use of Bolero’s electronic bills of lading (eBL) by Swire Shipping and the first on the Australia-New Zealand route and was completed through collaboration with BSM, the expert that specialises in the optimisation of trade execution business process including communication, compliance and document management.

The shipment conducted under open account, from Sydney and Newcastle to Tauranga, was undertaken on behalf of Cargill Australia, a major provider of grain, oilseeds and other agricultural commodities. Cargill Australia employs BSM for trade execution and Bolero for multi-party electronic document presentation (ePresentation). This solution combines BSM’s comprehensive, simple-to-use trade execution solutions and Bolero’s legal framework, eBLs and other digitised trade documents to deliver major savings in time and costs for Cargill Australia.

Following the success of this pioneering New Zealand shipment, Swire Shipping and Cargill Australia are now deploying eBLs to accelerate shipments of grain to the Solomon Islands from Australia. The adoption of paperless trade documents not only delivers major advantages in terms of speed, accuracy and security, but places companies at the forefront of a major trend as important trade and regulatory documents such as phytosanitary certificates are digitised.

Jeremy Sutton, General Manager, Swire Shipping, said: “Swire Shipping is wholly committed to bringing customers the highest standards of service through sustainable innovation. Our successful use of Bolero’s electronic bills of lading to support a grain shipment from Australia to New Zealand is a significant first for us and for the region.

“We have been impressed with the substantial gains in speed of execution, simplicity of use and security Bolero has delivered for our customer and our use of the solution is set to expand as a result. We see this as the first of many transactions on the Bolero platform.”

Robert Flemming, Managing Director, BSM said: “As a business dedicated to smoothing workflows and super-charging the efficiency of trade, we understand the benefits of using Bolero’s eBLs, which is why we have integrated their solution in our own offering. The use of Bolero eBLs to facilitate Cargill’s grain shipment from Australia to New Zealand has demonstrated all the advantages of digitisation in terms of speed and cost. Our partnership with Bolero is certain to go from strength to strength as eBLs are deployed on ever more routes.”

“The speed and efficiency generated by the Bolero solution allows for the fast release of our cargo and gives our customers the best level of service possible,” said David Werner, Trade Execution Manager, Cargill Australia. “We are pleased to have worked with Bolero on this project and our use of digitised trade documentation is certain to expand to other routes in line with our determination to bring customers the real benefits of digital innovation while upholding the integrity of our documentation.”

Ian Kerr, CEO, Bolero International said: “It’s gratifying and exciting to see how the Bolero solution is fast gaining acceptance among the biggest names in liner services, agricultural exports and supply chain innovation. All understand how electronic trade documents are safer, smarter and faster than their paper predecessors.

“The partnerships we have around the globe will flourish as Bolero’s digitisation solution expands to cover more routes. In every market, exporters, importers and shipping lines understand that paper belongs to the past and that digitisation is driving the efficiency of trade into the future.”