Standards Development

Scope

This standard specifies the business process and data requirements of electronic Bill of Lading (eBL). This standard primarily addresses the digital transfer of title for documents on a secure platform. It also defines optional data elements crucial for Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) that can support the eBL business process. These elements enhance the integrity of the eBL by ensuring it remains the single source of truth, while also making the distribution process fully controllable, traceable, and auditable. In another word, this standard is specifying the industry practice on business process of maritime B/L (BOV) and also is specifying how to implement the BOV part on the digital platform (FSV).

This ISO standard is a collaborative deliverable developed jointly with the UN/CEFACT Transport and Logistics Domain. Its semantics align closely with the UN/CEFACT "Buy-Ship-Pay" standard, specifically the UN/CEFACT Project on Buy/Ship/Pay Data Exchange Structures for Trade Finance Facilitation, which supports the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR)-compliant titles. Additionally, it is harmonized with the UN/CEFACT Global Bill of Lading (Waybill) subset within the Multi-Modal Transport Reference Data Model (MMT-RDM). Should any additional data elements be identified as necessary, they will be fully aligned and integrated with the existing MMT-RDM framework to ensure consistency and interoperability. The mapping of the data elements (refer to the identifiers in Chapter 7) for this electronic Bill of Lading is aligned with the terminology set forth in the United Nations Trade Data Elements Directory (UNTDED/ISO 7372) as well as the data elements defined within the UN/CEFACT "Buy-Ship-Pay" framework.