New Galileo platform and integrated carrier solution allows banks, corporates and shipping liners to accelerate transactions despite pandemic disruption
London, 18th Aug, 2020 –Bolero International, the leading global trade finance digitisation expert with more than two decades of experience, is experiencing substantial growth as banks, corporates and shipping liners grasp the advantages of paperless transactions during the Covid-19 disruption.
Since the successful launch of Bolero’s cutting-edge Galileo platform in February, the company has processed thousands of electronic bills of lading (eBLs).
Between January and April, 2020, the volume of eBLs presented digitally on Bolero rose by 46%, compared with the same period in 2019. Bolero’s range of integrated solutions for carriers designed alongside the world’s largest container lines has seen a 380% year-on-year increase in the volume of eBLs transacted. This very significant trend set to continue as more organisations realise digitisation has become a vital necessity in international trade. Galileo’s accelerating roll-out will meet this demand, providing advanced functionality that future-proofs digital trade services for banks, corporates, carriers and other eco-systems.
Bolero is accelerating shipments and time-to-payment, slashing the time it takes to complete a trade transaction. For eBLs, the average time from creation to available for surrender is now two days and four hours, compared with the several days, weeks or whole month required for conventional, paper bills of lading to reach their destinations. For eBLs in the letter of credit (LC) workflow, the average number of days from the point of creation to available for surrender is six days and one hour.
The lowest time to-date for an open account transaction on the Bolero platform is one minute 25 seconds, while for a full end-to-end presentation under an LC, the current record from January to April is one day, two hours and 30 minutes. All the data and statistics provided are derived strictly from live transactions and do not include any pilots or tests.
These rapid transaction times expose the significant disadvantages of paper documents, which are susceptible to forgery, are often delayed or lost in transit and cannot be couriered when movement restrictions are imposed. If bills of lading are unavailable and cargoes must remain in port, significant demurrage penalties are incurred or costly letters of indemnity are required. This in turn can generate high admin costs and lower team productivity.
Andrew Raymond, CEO, Bolero said: “The pandemic has shown that adoption of cutting-edge digitisation to remove paper and streamline trade processes is now a no-brainer. Despite very tough conditions during the pandemic, corporates, banks and carriers have achieved major efficiencies and opened up new opportunities using the advanced connectivity, open interfaces and intuitive design of our new Galileo platform.
“Having begun its roll-out we are now preparing to announce some significant new partnerships that will extend the range and scale of our services, enabling our customers to offer more to their customers. We are welcoming an even bigger trade finance community to digitisation.”
One of the most significant of these new partnerships was revealed this month (August) when Bolero announced its partnership with global trade finance technology provider TradeIX, to bring Bolero’s eBL and e-document/ePresentation solutions to the Marco Polo blockchain Network. The partnership between Bolero and the Marco Polo Network will ultimately provide fully-integrated trade settlement processes and allow corporates and banks to increase the capacity and velocity of their trade transactions while facilitating rapid decision-making.
“The Covid-19 crisis has shown the vulnerability of paper-related processes in cross-border trade,” said Raymond. “We expect demand for digitisation to rise rapidly throughout the second half of FY2020 – a trend which Bolero is perfectly placed to meet.”
For more information, please contact:
Joanna Elliott
The Whiteoaks Consultancy
Tel: + 44 (0) 1252 727313