PIL joins DCSA to advance container shipping digitalisation standards
Pacific International Lines (PIL) has joined the non-profit organisation, Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), to drive standardisation and digital innovation in the container shipping industry.
DCSA’s founding members comprise 9 of the 10 largest container shipping companies worldwide and represent approximately 70% of global container trade. The association was founded to accelerate digitalisation by streamlining and harmonising data standards, thereby creating an interoperable framework with reduced friction, cost and a better customer experience.
PIL and DCSA will collaborate on the development, alignment and validation of digitalisation standards to increase adoption across the industry, highlighted a release.
DCSA standards aim to address needs such as paperless trade, cargo visibility, port call optimisation and equipment management. Having common and interoperable data standards and legislative conditions across international jurisdictions and platforms will significantly enhance delivery schedules. They will also improve the ease of communications and transactions across regulators, banks, insurers, carriers, customers and stakeholders involved in an international trade transaction.
PIL has been embarking on a wide range of digitalisation initiatives, including the implementation of an electronic bill of lading (eBL) to decrease delivery times, increase efficiency of operations and provide customers with a seamless experience. An eBL makes document creation, approval, distribution and tracking easier, while reducing potential fraud and eliminating the risk of paper documents being lost in transit.
Switching away from the transfer of physical paper bills of lading could save $6.5 billion in direct costs for stakeholders, enable $30-40 billion in annual global trade growth and ensure the long-term sustainability of international trade, the release added.
Source: Exim News Service: Singapore, April 18