The year’s news flow was once again dominated by the overarching theme of 'trade digitization', but with a distinct shift towards combining a wider mix of technologies to achieve the singular goal of end-to-end paperless trade; an absolute necessity when dealing with complex value and supply chains, and a sharp move from earlier one-size-fits-all approaches. Interestingly, over the last quarter of 2016, the year’s stories were bookended with distinctively forward-looking news articles, almost as if trying to anticipate the yet-unrealized full potential of combining innovations such as electronic Bills of Lading, BPO, DocPrep, Blockchain, IoT, AI and more – making the journey into 2017 more exciting than ever!

On behalf of the entire team here at essDOCS, we’d like to wish you all a great New Year, as we once again renew our commitment to enabling your ongoing journey to paperless trade!
 

Industry News & Views

ICC Global Survey on Trade Finance (2016): Essential reading for trade finance professionals, feat. essDOCS' contribution on digitization & best practices for digital success(source: ICC). + READ MORE

Commodity traders must go digital or face extinction:Trade digitization no longer justan option, but an absolute requirement according to a recent industryreport (source: Reuters). + READ MORE

IGTC Survey on eDocs in Agri: Key findings from the IGTC's recent survey on the use of electronic documents in Agri, the first of its kind in the industry (source: IGTC & essDOCS). + READ MORE

Tech firm challenges LME’s new eWarehousing system: essDOCS as a major contender in eWarehouse solutions, needed more than ever to efficiently combat paper fraud (source: Reuters). + READ MORE

Digital trade: Wish, vision or reality? The Blockchain euphoria: Views on digital trade developments, covering the potential convergence of tech like BPO, eB/Ls, Blockchain & more (source: TXF). + READ MORE

Digital Transformation Isn’t a One and Done Deal: A brief and insightful guide to achieving meaningful, long-term digital transformation in your organization (source: CMSWire). + READ MORE

Digitization gaining momentum in trade finance: Tracking the hurdles, recent inroads and way forward for digital trade finance via DocPrep, BPO, eB/Ls & more (source: GTNews). + READ MORE

Video - Alex Goulandris talks Digitization @ SIBOS 2016: A fintech perspective on the progress and challenges in paperless trade and finance today (source: Financial IT). + READ MORE

Digital Supply Chain Initiative: Key inputs and metrics from the executives managing some of the largest supply chains across the globe (source: Centre for Global Enterprise). + READ MORE
 

What is the Future of Trade Finance?: Trade Finance Global's Mark Abrams offers a unique look into the future of trade finance from a risk mitigation perspective (source: BrinkNews). + READ MORE

Self-Financing Oil – Digitizing the Commodity Lifecycle: By combining technologies such as AI, Internet of Things, eDocs/eTrade Finance and Blockchain (source: TabbFORUM). + READ MORE
 

Financing the future: looking ahead in commodity trade finance: Figures from a recent trade finance report covering digital, alternative finance, sustainability and more (source: HFW & GTR). + READ MORE

UK P&I Club’s Alan Mackinnon talks electronic Bills of Lading: The first in a series of interviews for our Paperless Trade Thought Leaders series (source: essDOCS.com). + READ MORE
 

China overtaking US and UK as fintech leader: Leapfrogging ahead to become the undisputed fintech hub according to a recent DBS/Ernst & Young report (source: Corporate Treasurer). + READ MORE

Supply Chain Finance – Looking into the future: Westpac's Adnan Ghani looks into the not-too-distant future of Supply Chain Finance (source: LinkedIn). + READ MORE

essDOCS Company News

essDOCS expands global reach with £2M growth loan: Significant cash inflow by way of venture debt from BOOST&Co to expand the company's capabilities into 2017 (source: BOOST&Co). + READ MORE

eB/Ls at West of England P&I: WofE P&I recently hosted its Annual Loss Prevention Seminar with a distinct tech focus, prominently featuring the use of eB/Ls in practice. + READ MORE 

CargoDocs News

Natixis signs on to CargoDocs: Becoming the first French banking group to adopt the solution for trade finance. + READ MORE

The fastest path to Paperless Trade: Watch our recent webinar recording to discover how DocPrep+ lets you start your journey to digitization in simple, manageable steps. + READ MORE
 

essDOCS in Numbers