Application of Electronic Bills of Lading in International E-commerce

The traditional bill of lading is of great value in the maritime industry. However, as electronic communication takes over in international trade, the electronic bill of lading is now being considered first in some situations. A brief introduction of the bill of lading will be made together with a general comparison between the traditional bill of lading and the electronic bill of lading. Further analysis will concentrate on the issues of how the electronic bill of lading applies in some particular international e-commerce cases and how we can improve the new electronic data interchange system. Finally, this paper aims to demonstrate that it may be advantageous to ultimately switch entirely from the paper bill of lading to an electronic one in a modern e-commerce-driven society.