Their most immediate focus involves a title registry for Bills of Lading that enabled title changing hands for cargo in transit, primarily at sea. We don't see much use or need of bills of lading as title documents and their use is declining in ocean transport trade with Asia and Europe. Title transfer happens quite efficiently outside the transport documentation process. Without much urgency in terms of the services required from our clients in this particular area, we couldn't see much value investing time and money in the initial stages of the Bolero project. The significance of the Rulebook is that it tackles head-on the peculiar role paper documents play in trade, and trade finance in particular.
Errors are common in trade documentation.
Nonetheless, the paper documents are sacrosanct. Bolero clearly has its work cut out for it in trying to replace such murky paper trails with a transparent virtual pathway. And other stumbling blocks still lie ahead. Many have had extensive e-commerce solutions in place for some time and have a vested interest in the models they have established to deal with suppliers and customers. A General Motors, for example, is not likely to be interested in making the changes required to adapt to a universal electronic shipping document system unless GM finds it compatible with its existing systems or with its e-commerce strategy.