Cargill becomes the first company to adopt CargoDocs for Bulkers, essDOCS electronic bill of lading solution for the dry cargo market, operationally, after completing successful Trials in 2012.   This shipment commences a wider rollout into various agricultural trades, initially around the Atlantic Basin with exports from North and South America to the Caribs and Europe

VALETTA, MALTA, 28 February 2013: essDOCS, the leading provider of electronic shipping documents is pleased to announce that Cargill has commenced operational use of CargoDocs for Bulkers on a grain shipment from Houston, US to Veracruz, Mexico onboard the M/V UBC BREMEN.

eB/Ls were drafted by Cargill’s Reserve Terminal and reviewed on essDOCS eDocs Exchange by the carrier, UBC, in New York; Cargill Inc., the shipper in Minneapolis; and Cargill de Mexico, the receiver in Santa Fe Mexico City, before being signed electronically and issued to Cargill Inc.  All eB/Ls were produced back to the carrier within 19 minutes of issuance, ensuring that the cargo was not discharged to a Letter of Indemnity (LOI) notwithstanding the extremely short sailing time of just two days.

essDOCS entry into the dry cargo market came at the request of Cargill in 2012.  The two companies collaborated on developing agreed eDocs processes and approaching Mexican Customs to ensure the output was acceptable to them.  Cargill successfully tested CargoDocs for Bulkers over a period of two months before signing an operational pan-Group agreement to adopt CargoDocs across all market segments, i.e., Bulkers, Tankers, ARA Barges and Liner.

Cargill has already commenced work to rollout CargoDocs across various tanker trades in Europe, agri cargo trade routes from North and South America to the Caribs and Europe and Petroleum Barge Trades in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp area.  The company is also preparing for a Trial of CargoDocs for Liner later this year.  Cargill adopted its first essDOCS Solution in 2010 when it started using essDOCS eSDS Solution for REACH / GHS compliance.

Ernst Herger, Global eBLs Project Manager of Cargill, said:

“The rapidly increasing adoption of CargoDocs for Tankers by major oil companies and large petroleum trading houses gave us the confidence that CargoDocs is the appropriate solution for Cargill to change from paper to electronic documents. Through our unique connectivity across commodities within our integrated Trade Execution group, it was a small step to build the bridge to our dry cargo business. Our Trade Execution and shipping specialists worked closely together with essDOCS during recent months to adapt CargoDocs for the dry bulk cargo trade. After nearly 150 years of paper Bills of Ladings, this first electronic BL represents a historical milestone for us. We would also like to express our appreciation to the owners of MV UBC Bremen for their spontaneous collaboration.”

Alexander Goulandris, Chief Executive Officer of essDOCS, said:

“We are delighted to have been able to work with Cargill on successfully extending CargoDocs to cover dry bulk shipments, and look forward to working with them on their aggressive rollout plan.  The speed of the transition into the bulker market with just a few months of testing, is testament to our dedicated and uniquely knowledgeable team plus the 7+ years of industry-wide testing and operational use of CargoDocs in the Energy market.”

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Notes to Editors

About Cargill

Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 142,000 people in 65 countries. Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to applying its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business. For more information, visit Cargill.com and its news center.

About essDOCS

essDOCS delivers industry-led electronic shipping and trade document / data solutions which improve physical and financial operations, compliance and traceability. Our global leading solution, CargoDocs, offers electronic bills of lading (eB/L) and supporting documents for the Tanker, Barge, Bulker and/or Liner markets.  For more information visit www.essdocs.com or email us at media@essdocs.com.