During a recent CN Talks interview with Antonia Saratsopoulou, Managing Editor of Container News, Omer Guy, General Counsel at the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), discussed one of the most significant developments in the digitalisation of global trade: interoperable electronic Bills of Lading (eBLs).
From legal certainty and platform interoperability to industry-wide adoption, Guy explained why the latest milestone achieved by DCSA and five eBL solution providers represents more than a technical breakthrough. Instead, he believes it marks a turning point in the industry’s transition towards fully digital trade.
The challenge was never the technology
Electronic Bills of Lading are often described as the future of international trade, yet they have existed for more than two decades.
According to Guy, technology was never the primary obstacle.
Instead, the industry struggled with legal uncertainty, governance and the inability of different eBL platforms to communicate with one another.
In practice, companies using different platforms were unable to exchange electronic Bills of Lading, forcing all parties involved in a transaction to operate within the same digital environment.
DCSA’s latest interoperability framework changes that.
“It was never really a technology issue,” Guy explained. “The barriers were legal and governance related.”
From digital islands to a connected ecosystem
Guy described the industry’s previous approach as one of “digital islands,” where each platform operated independently.
While individual platforms functioned well, interoperability between them remained impossible.
The newly adopted interoperability standard allows participating platforms to connect through a common framework, creating what Guy describes as a growing network rather than isolated digital environments.
Instead of requiring every participant to use the same provider, users can now choose their preferred platform while still exchanging electronic Bills of Lading with companies using different systems.
The concept, he said, is similar to email.
People no longer consider which provider someone uses before sending a message. The same principle should apply to electronic trade documentation.
“You connect to one platform, and you potentially connect to all users across the network,” Guy said.
Legal certainty builds industry confidence
One of the interview’s strongest themes was the importance of legal trust.
Guy explained that because a Bill of Lading serves as a document of title, legal certainty is essential before businesses, banks and insurers can rely on its electronic equivalent.
The recent approval of DCSA’s interoperability framework by the International Group of P&I Clubs represents a significant step towards building that confidence.
According to Guy, the approval reinforces the confidence that electronic Bills of Lading can provide the same legal function as traditional paper documents while operating within an internationally recognised framework.
For carriers, banks, cargo owners and insurers, that creates greater confidence that electronic transactions can be trusted in commercial operations.
Technology, law and trust must work together
Guy explained that interoperability depends on three equally important components.
The first is the technical layer, allowing platforms to exchange electronic Bills of Lading securely.
The second is the legal layer, defining how users operating on different platforms interact within a common legal framework.
The third is trust.
To achieve this, DCSA introduced the Control Tracking Registry (CTR), providing a single source of truth for every interoperable electronic Bill of Lading.
The registry ensures that only one valid electronic Bill of Lading exists at any given time while allowing ownership to move securely between platforms without creating duplicate documents or conflicting claims.
Together, these three elements create the confidence required for electronic trade to operate at scale.
The biggest challenge is no longer technology
Perhaps the most striking message from the discussion was that the industry’s biggest barriers have largely been removed.
According to Guy, technology has matured.
Legal frameworks are advancing.
Interoperability now exists.
The remaining challenge is adoption.
DCSA’s member carriers, representing around 75% of global container trade, have committed to achieving 100% electronic Bill of Lading adoption by 2030.
However, success depends on much more than shipping lines.
Shippers, freight forwarders, banks, customs authorities and every participant in the supply chain must embrace digital documentation for the transition to succeed.
“The ecosystem has run out of excuses,” Guy said. “The question now is how organisations choose to digitalise.”
Beyond paperless trade
Guy stressed that DCSA’s vision extends far beyond replacing paper documents with electronic versions.
The real objective is data-driven trade.
Rather than repeatedly entering identical information into multiple documents, businesses should capture data once and reuse it throughout the supply chain.
This approach reduces manual work, improves data quality and enables greater automation across trade processes.
It also opens opportunities for improved inventory management, faster customs procedures, better forecasting and quicker access to trade finance.
According to research cited by Guy, full adoption of electronic Bills of Lading could generate billions of dollars in annual savings while significantly improving efficiency across global trade.
Looking beyond 2030
When asked what success would look like by the end of the decade, Guy offered a simple answer.
His ambition is for the industry to stop talking about electronic Bills of Lading altogether.
Instead, they should become the accepted standard for global trade.
For DCSA, success is not measured by replacing paper with electronic documents.
It is measured by creating a connected ecosystem where trusted data moves seamlessly between all participants, making international trade faster, more efficient and more transparent.
If that vision is realised, electronic Bills of Lading will no longer be viewed as innovation.
They will simply become the normal way global trade operates.
Watch the full CN Talks interview with Omer Guy, General Counsel at DCSA, conducted by Antonia Saratsopoulou, Managing Editor of Container News, here.
