Digital bills of lading are not new, but to date, they have not caught on to the extent that backers hoped for. The most prominent attempt to create a global standard for electronic bills of lading (eBLs) was TradeLens, backed by Maersk, IBM and others. It, too, failed.
The reason may be related to the complexity of global trade, the various electronic systems used by the many participants in the network, and a lack of standardization.
