Transway and WAVE BL: A Successful Collaboration
An electronic Bill of Lading is a digital version of the traditional paper Bill of Lading, offering a secure, paperless way to manage cargo information, track origin and destination, and confirm transaction integrity with ease and speed. At Hapag-Lloyd we are committed to switch to the use of eBLs by the year 2023. Hence, we are already offering our customers the possibility to create eBL with our partner solutions. One of these customers is Transway. Transway's Sea Freight CEO Maida Žerić tells us how eBLs are used in the company.
Hi Maida, thanks for taking the time and answering some questions regarding WAVE BL and how you are using it in your day-to-day work.
Let’s dive right in: Can you please describe your business and your role in the company?
Transway is a logistics and freight forwarding company that specializes in offering international transportation and supply chain solutions, providing end-to-end services, ensuring cost-effective and efficient movement of goods globally.
My role as CEO involves overseeing all aspects of Transway’s operations and strategy, making decisions to ensure growth and efficiency in the freight forwarding industry, with a focus on innovation and adapting to market trends.
How do you usually get original Bills of Lading from carriers and what are the main challenges in this process?
The original B/L is usually printed and physically sent to the freight forwarder, either by courier or post. Sometimes it is printed at destination and released to consignee from the carrier’s office at destination.
The main challenge is the delays that occur during sending or receiving original B/L. This can slow down the entire process, especially if physical delivery is involved. That is a risk in international shipments, where customs clearance and final delivery depend on timely documentation.
Mistakes in the Bill of Lading, for example incorrect consignee details or shipment information can also result in delays, disputes, and additional costs. In the worst case, amendments or corrections are not possible on short notice, if necessary.
Physical Bills of Lading must be securely transported and delivered to the right receiver. During this transport the document can be lost, damaged or delayed in transit.
These challenges require freight forwarders to have strong systems, good relationships with carriers, and effective document management practices to minimize delays and risks.
What is your experience with WAVE BL? How did you like the platform?
WAVE BL is user friendly, self-explanatory, and turning out to be the solution for digitalizing and modernizing logistics documentation for us at Transway,
We really like the efficiency, security, and environmental benefits, particularly in enabling paperless operations, reducing delays associated with traditional paper processes when creating B/Ls.
The requirement is that all parties in the supply chain, including shippers, consignees, and banks, need to be participants in the WAVE BL network to ensure seamless document transfer. So that was important when first using WAVE BL to ensure a smooth process for everyone.
Maida Žerić, Sea Freight CEO at Transway
We really like the efficiency, security, and environmental benefits, particularly in enabling paperless operations, reducing delays associated with traditional paper processes when creating B/Ls.
What were your motivations as a company for using WAVE BL?
Our main motivation were the sustainability Impact an to align with the growing industry trend leaning towards digitalization. It also perfectly ties into our environmental goals as WAVE BL supports paperless operations.
Secondly, also the cost and time efficiency were a factor. WAVE BL drastically reduces the time needed to process and transfer Bills of Lading and also eliminates courier fees for paper documents, leading to reduced administrative efforts.
What is the biggest benefit for you as a forwarder to exchange documents originally?
The biggest benefit for us in exchanging original documents electronically, like through platform WAVE BL is the speed and efficiency.
WAVE BL is especially beneficial in trade lanes where customs regulations mandate the presentation of original Bills of Lading for cargo clearance. By digitizing this traditionally paper-based process, the platform ensures that necessary documents are securely and instantly accessible to meet these regulatory requirements, reducing delays and improving compliance for everyone involved.
Do you have any suggestions for improving the WAVE platform?
It would be great if compatibility with legacy systems and other digital trade platforms to streamline workflows for users reliant on mixed systems could be expanded.
The platform’s ability to eliminate paper documents supports environmental goals, making it appealing to us, as we are trying to focus on green logistics. Highlighting this impact more visibly could attract environmentally conscious users.
Are there any other comments you would like to make?
WAVE BL has shown great promise in scaling its solution to large shipping companies, but efforts to simplify implementation for smaller businesses could further expand its market.
We sincerely appreciate Hapag-Lloyd’s support and leadership in adopting WAVE BL. Your proactive approach significantly benefits all stakeholders.
Thank you so much for your time and the great insights into your work with WAVE BL.
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