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Enigio AB signed an agreement on 31 October, 2022, with the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) to add its trace:original to the solutions supporting the electronic bill of lading standard (eBL).

Enigio’s trace:original is a digital solution that is able to replace all paper documents in trade.  

It does not only serve eBLs but also other trade documents such as letters of credit (LCs), bills of exchange, certificates, packing lists, invoices etc. 

trace:original provides a flexible and interoperable solution where documents can be accessed by or transferred to any party in the supply chain. Importantly, it does not require the receiver to be a member of the solution or a specific platform. 

With trace:original eBLs, there will be minimal operational costs with certain environment, social, governance (ESG) benefits. 

The risk of possible fraud decreases and the risk of carriers’ delivery of goods without presenting the original bill of lading (BL) will be mitigated.

The main objective of the eBL is to provide FIATA members with the possibility to issue eBLs through their everyday tools, transportation management system (TMS) or equivalent, including electronic document transfer platforms.

The eBL open standard is accessible to all software and technology providers.

FIATA’s solution also includes a document verification system which is aimed at ensuring authenticity, identification, and traceability of e-documents issued by freight forwarders. 

All stakeholders are able to verify the validity of a document, the identity of its issuer as well as the integrity of its content. 

In addition to this, trace:orginal will also leverage the eBL standard with the capabilities of negotiability, free transferability to anyone, and proof of possession while preserving data confidentiality.

Dr Stephane Graber, FIATA director general, said, “[This collaboration] offers the possibility to digitally transfer the eBL, securely tracking ownership and endorsement of the document. 

“Enigio makes the digital transfer of original documents even more accessible as it offers this possibility also where the recipient(s) of the document are not Enigio registered members.” 

Ulf Eggefors, head of sales, transport and logistics at Enigio, said, “Freight forwarders are important partners in trade, which makes this agreement a cornerstone in the development.”