Standard-compliant electronic FIATA Bill of Lading

CargoX supports issuing standardized, paperless FIATA Bills of Lading in partnership with the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA). The FIATA paperless Bill of Lading solution allows freight forwarders to issue secured paperless FBLs through their usual transportation management tools (TMS) or through independent eBL providers. As of 18 May 2022, seven software providers have already signed an agreement with the Federation to implement the solution and the CargoX Platform for Blockchain Document Transfer (BDT) is only one of the two that allows you to issue and also transfer the Standard-compliant electronic FIATA Bills of Lading. Please visit FIATA’s website for more information. 

Once registered on both platforms, please follow the step-by-step guide to creating an eFBL:

1

Send us your FIATA ID

Send us your FIATA ID by email to support@cargox.io in order to establish interoperability between the FIATA and the CargoX Platform. 

Success

You will be informed once the connection between the platforms is established and you can then continue to the next step.

2

Create a new standard envelope

Sign in to the CargoX Platform and click the green Compose button.

   

Click on the gray Choose button next to the Standard envelope.

   

3

Start creating an eFBL

Clicking on the Create FIATA eFBL launches the process for creating a paperless document.

Info

The “Create FIATA eFBL” button is only visible to companies that have established the connection between FIATA and the CargoX Platform. If you cannot see the button, please go back to Step 1 of this step-by-step guide.

   

4

Fill out the eFBL form

The eFBL consists of two main sections: Exchanged documents and Supply chain consignment. Fill in the basic information in both sections. Supply chain consignment has subsections that can be accessed when clicked on.

   

Info

Please pay special attention when selecting the number of original copies issued in the Exchanged document section, depending on the type of a bill of lading (negotiable/non-negotiable). For negotiable bills of lading, there are typically 3 original copies issued – one for the shipper, one for the consignee, and one for the bank or a third party. The number of original copies is stated on the bill of lading for certainty. This is not the case for a non-negotiable bill of lading, which does not constitute a document of title and does not require multiple original copies as it is not intended to be transferred to another party, but rather serves as a receipt evidencing the contract of carriage. It is therefore only issued as a single original copy and the “0” indicates this accordingly on the bill of lading.

Tip

In case the eFBL remains electronic throughout the shipment, i.e. when the eFBL is issued only in an electronic format, and the possession is transferred electronically from the time it is issued and until it is accomplished, please use the term ‘’Original electronically issued, not valid on paper’’.

Note

Observe the red fields on the left side of eFBL fields – scroll up and down over the fields and add the missing information.

5

Generate a preview of the eFBL

After filling all the eFBL details, click on the Show preview button.

   

6

Check and create the eFBL

Check the information on the generated preview (on the right side).

Info

You can still make changes and amendments on the left side in the eFBL fields. Click the Refresh preview button to display the changes in the eFBL preview.

When you are certain that the entered information in the eFBL is correct, click on the Create button to begin eFBL validation.

   

7

eFBL validation by FIATA

After a few seconds the eFBL will be equipped with a FBL number (B/L number) and a QR code. The envelope containing the eFBL can be found in the Draft folder.

   

Success

If you want to use a modern way of transferring electronic documents – a much faster, cheaper, and more reliable one – then the CargoX Platform provides a solution that will help you optimize all of these aspects and save you lots of time and money. Please continue reading to Step 8 if you want to know how to send an eFBL via the CargoX Platform.

Tip

However, if you are not interested in taking advantage of the benefits that the CargoX Platform for Blockchain Document Transfer (BDT) brings, you can Download the created eFBL in the PDF format, and use your standard carrier procedures to transfer the ownership of the document.

8

Send a FIATA B/L via the CargoX Platform for Blockchain Document Transfer (BDT)

A step-by-step guide for sending an eFBL via the CargoX Platform:

1) Select the recipient, edit the document Properties (add a Release agent) and Seal the envelope. More information can be found here (please start from step 3).

2) After the envelope is sealed, click on the green Transfer button.

3) To confirm the transfer, you must authenticate and digitally sign it with your blockchain key. To perform this action follow this guide.

Success

Wait for the action to be completed. After that you can Close the window.