Swieqi, Malta & Mumbai, India – July 14 2020: essDOCS, the leading enabler of paperless trade, and Portall Infosystems, the digital transformation leader in the Indian logistics arena, announced today a partnership to extend the use of CargoDocs electronic bills of lading (eBoLs) in India.

The partnership will provide integrated electronic document capabilities – enabled by essDOCS’ CargoDocs DocEx solution – accessed through the P-CaSo collaborative platform connected to PCS 1x, a modern Port Community System under the aegis of the Indian Ports Association (IPA). Through the Portal-CargoDocs connection, trade participants using P-CaSo can securely and instantaneously draft, review, amend, sign, issue, transfer, present and surrender relevant original electronic documents such as the bill of lading. 

Furthermore, essDOCS and Portall have agreed to collaborate in offering essCert, an online solution for applying for and receiving back signed/stamped certificates of origin, to P-CaSo. 

In terms of required trade documentation processes, today Indian Ports enable paperless invoices (plus electronic payments) and delivery orders, with efforts underway to soon extend to electronic BoLs following significant traction amongst trade stakeholders, associations and Indian Banks to accept these.

Specifically, since April 2020, the Indian Ministry of Shipping has spearheaded efforts across all relevant government departments to issue suitable guidelines and directives for Customs and Indian Banks to accept eDocs, recommending the adoption of eBoLs to ensure unimpeded exports / imports in India while safe-guarding health and safety through paperless processes. Portall’s integration of CargoDocs eBoLs into PCS 1x forms a key part of the Indian government’s efforts to fast-track the implementation of eBoLs in India.  

Shri Dhruv Kotak, Managing Director, Portall Infosystems, said: “essDOCS brings in the modules to draft and exchange global trade documents and will be of use to many of our stakeholders. We are very excited to have them on board and we look forward to leveraging their strengths for the good of the Indian trade ecosystem,” adding that “with essDocs onboard  we have ability to explore interoperability and collaboration in every manner as two of the top six players in the digital document space have now reposed their faith in P-CaSo.”

Alexander Goulandris, Co-CEO, essDOCS, said: “We welcome the recent efforts by authorities in India to accelerate the acceptance of eDocs and are excited to partner with Portall in our joint mission to extend the use of electronic bills of lading in such a crucial market for global trade. We look forward to working closely with the Portall team to ensure that we contribute substantially to digital trade adoption in India, as we explore cross-platform interoperability use cases and provide Indian customers with the necessary flexibility and support in their digitization efforts.” 

Portall is a technical partner of the Indian Ports Association (IPA), launching its PCS 1x platform after successfully winning an IPA tender to modernize its Port Community System and streamline Indian port-related export/import processes. Since its launch in 2018, PCS 1x is now operational and active in 19 ports with over 16,000 corporate stakeholders. 

Work on the P-CaSO, CargoDocs integration is currently underway, with the connection slated for completion by mid July 2020.
 

About essDOCS
essDOCS enables paperless trade. Its solutions digitize and automate paper-heavy processes, including: online creation/approval/management of all export documents (CargoDocs DocHub), data extraction and structure from paper documents and back-office automated checks (CargoDocs Auto-Document Processing), end-to-end eDocs management for original electronic trade documents such as Bills of Lading and Warehouse Warrants (CargoDocs DocEx), application/issuance of electronic Certificates of Origin (essCert) and fully digital documentary trade finance or supply chain finance under URBPO (Cmatch).

Over 50,000 companies, ranging from 31% of the Fortune Global 100 to innovative SMEs, use essDOCS solutions across 203 countries.

To find out more, visit www.essdocs.com

About Portall Infosystems
Portall Infosystems Pvt Ltd is looking to transform the Indian logistics landscape with simple to use, technology-rich, multi tenancy B2G, B2B and B2C solutions for managing various aspects of the global supply chain.

Portall is blessed to be a part of a 104-year-old maritime legacy, J M Baxi Group which enjoys strong brand recall worldwide and is synonymous with the shipping industry in India. Portall with its domain knowledge and expertise helps in identifying opportunities in the logistics and supply chain industry and provides its users with valuable insights through its services enabling them to bring about digital transformation in the maritime ecosystem.

Portall undertakes engagements in Consultancy, Bespoke digitisation projects and also has a suite of cloud software solutions ranging from elearning to customs clearance.  

P-CaSo is a collaborative platform with a palate of B2B and B2C cargo services, already  integrated with the Indian Port Community System , PCS 1x to offer niche services to stakeholders like blockchain, ebl, trucking aggregation services , evgm and e-learning ,COO, trade documentation etc., in India. 

To find out more, visit www.portall.in
 

Media contacts:

essDOCS
Nicholas Demetriou, CMO, essDOCS
nicholas.demetriou@essdocs.com
+30 210 724 5960

Portall Infosystems
Meera Kumar , CMO, Portall Infosystems
meerak@portall.in
+91 9823324285