But oil traders are very conservative and will need to be convinced of the benefits. Playing the rules Bolero describes itself as a trusted third party like the post office. It transmits the equivalent of registered letters without itself being aware of the contents. This is important in an industry where commercial information is valuable and can, in extreme circumstances, be subject to subpoena by taxation or regulatory authorities. If an authority subpoenas Bolero, it can legitimately claim to have no knowledge of the information contained in the messages in its system.
Bolero aims to increase efficiency, reduce costs and eliminate fraud.
The use of Bolero involves, firstly, an operational services contract between each user and Bolero International. Secondly, the user must sign a service contract with all other Bolero users, represented by the Bolero Association, a cross-industry group of 200 users. Thirdly, the user must subscribe to the Bolero rulebook, which is a multi-lateral agreement between all users, current and future. In compiling their rule book for users, Bolero claims to have undertaken the biggest legal study to have ever been conducted into e-commerce. One of the big hurdles still to be overcome in achieving Bolero's objective of replicating existing oil industry custom and practise electronically, is the signature of the bills of lading.