Automated Intermodal Document Verification

Replace manual data entry and reconciliation with automated smart contracts. A single shipment can involve 20+ paper documents (B/L, CMR, invoices). By digitizing and auto-verifying these on a shared ledger, you eliminate the labor-intensive back-office work. Real Example: Maersk and IBM's TradeLens pilot showed a 40% reduction in document processing time, with potential for further automation gains.

Create an immutable audit trail for every document change and transfer. This prevents common fraud like duplicate Bill of Lading (B/L) fraud and tampering. Disputes over document authenticity, which can halt cargo and incur demurrage fees, are resolved instantly by referencing the single source of truth. Key Benefit: Reduced insurance premiums and legal fees associated with cargo disputes.

Accelerate invoice settlement from weeks to hours. Automated document verification triggers payment smart contracts upon proof of delivery, enabling supply chain finance programs. Carriers and suppliers get paid faster, improving their cash flow, while buyers can extend payment terms. This turns logistics data into a financial asset.

Provide all parties—shipper, carrier, port, customs, receiver—with a single, synchronized view of document status. This eliminates the 'black holes' in shipment tracking caused by siloed systems. Business Impact: Proactive exception management, optimized asset utilization, and enhanced customer service through accurate ETAs.

Automate the secure and permissioned sharing of verified trade documents with customs authorities. Pre-populate declarations with tamper-proof data, reducing clearance times from days to hours and minimizing the risk of fines for inaccurate filings. This is critical for ESG reporting and proving chain-of-custody for regulated goods.

The trusted data layer enables innovative services. Examples include:

• Dynamic cargo insurance priced on real-time, verified risk data.
• Carbon credit tracking for accurate Scope 3 emissions reporting.
• Asset monetization by providing verified logistics data to third-party analytics firms. This shifts the function from a pure cost center to a data-driven profit center.

Manual reconciliation of Bills of Lading, customs forms, and invoices between shippers, carriers, ports, and banks creates massive delays and disputes. Blockchain creates a single source of truth, reducing administrative overhead by up to 80%. A major European port consortium cut document processing time from 5-10 days to under 24 hours, directly lowering operational costs.

Letters of Credit and payment settlements are bottlenecked by manual document verification, delaying cash flow for weeks. With immutable, instantly verifiable records on a blockchain, banks can automate release of funds. This reduces the trade finance cycle from 2-3 weeks to near real-time, improving working capital and enabling Just-In-Time logistics.

Paper documents are easily forged, leading to cargo theft, duplicate financing, and counterfeit goods. Blockchain cryptographically seals each document, making tampering immediately detectable. This protects against fraudulent Bills of Lading—a document that alone represents ownership of millions in goods—securing the entire financial chain.

Unexpected delays from missing or incorrect documents cause cascading disruptions. Blockchain enables real-time, permissioned visibility for all authorized parties. When a container is delayed, all stakeholders are instantly notified with the verified reason, enabling proactive mitigation. This transforms logistics from a reactive cost to a predictive, value-driving operation.