CargoX Smart B/L™ - Digital Bills of Lading on Blockchain
Sector: Tertiary sector · Industry: Shipping and maritime transport · Organisation: CargoX · Maturity level: Production
CargoX Smart B/L™ digitizes bills of lading in maritime transport and replaces paper-based processes with blockchain-based electronic documents. The solution reduces costs by up to 85% and enables the transfer of trade documents in minutes instead of days or weeks. Since 2018, over 135,000 companies and authorities worldwide have processed more than 8 million electronic trade documents through the platform.
Documentation status
- Project status: Production
- Evidence: Evidence high
- Editorial review: Ufuk Avci, 15 April 2026
Description
CargoX (Ljubljana, Slovenia) was founded by Stefan Kukman and developed the first public blockchain-based Bill of Lading platform. The Bill of Lading is the most important document in maritime trade: it proves ownership of the cargo, serves as a freight contract, and acts as a receipt. Paper-based Bills of Lading take 7-10 days by courier — with CargoX: ownership transfers in minutes.
CargoX uses NFT technology on the public Ethereum blockchain (with Polygon as Layer 2 for low transaction costs): each Bill of Lading is minted as an NFT; ownership transfers occur like a crypto transaction — instant, immutable, worldwide. The biggest milestone: in April 2021, CargoX was mandated by Egypt’s customs authority (under Egyptian Customs Law #207) as the sole blockchain document transfer gateway for the NAFEZA National Single Window. From 1 October 2021, mandatory for all sea freight to Egypt. By 2023: over 1.5 million trade documents transferred, 100,000+ customers. Result: fastest growing blockchain platform in the logistics industry (Stefan Kukman). CargoX is the only platform approved by the International Group of Protection & Indemnity Clubs (IGP&I) — the 13 IGP&I clubs insure 90% of the world’s sea freight tonnage volume. Other partners: HMM (South Korea), G2 Ocean (largest breakbulk fleet), Contour (Trade Finance), FIATA (international freight forwarders association).
Perspectives
B2B — organisations perspective
Exporters to Egypt have been required since October 2021 to submit all trade documents exclusively via CargoX. For global logistics providers: Bill of Lading ownership transfers in minutes instead of days, immutable, worldwide — with IGP&I insurance coverage.
B2C — consumers perspective
End customers indirectly benefit from faster and more reliable deliveries, as the improved document handling leads to more efficient logistics processes. The increased transparency in the supply chain can also contribute to greater consumer trust in the origin and transport of their goods.
Employees perspective
Employees in document management and logistics experience a significant simplification of their daily workflows, as manual processes and the risk of document loss are practically eliminated. The digital solution greatly reduces administrative effort and enables staff to focus on more strategic and value-adding tasks.
Benefits
General
- The transfer of trade documents takes minutes instead of days or weeks, significantly increasing the speed of the entire supply chain.
- Cost savings of up to 85% in issuing and processing Bills of Lading by eliminating paper and courier costs.
- Blockchain technology ensures immutable and tamper-proof documents with system uptime of over 99.99%.
B2B — organisations
- Companies can improve their liquidity as trade documents are transferred faster, thereby accelerating payment processes.
Employees
- Employees are relieved from time-consuming manual document processes and can focus on more value-adding activities.
Challenges
General
- Acceptance of blockchain-based documents by all parties involved in the supply chain often requires persuasion and training.
- Companies must adapt their existing processes and systems to digital document transfer, which requires organisational changes.
B2B — organisations
- Integration with existing ERP systems and national Single Window systems can involve technical challenges and additional development work.
Employees
- Employees need training in using the new blockchain-based platform and must develop trust in the digital technology.
Technology foundation
CargoX uses public Ethereum and Polygon networks with smart contracts to tokenize trade documents and store their transfer history in a decentralised manner. The solution uses Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) for secure transmissions and strong cryptographic signatures to ensure the authenticity and immutability of the documents.
Implementation examples
First blockchain-based bill of lading transfer Shanghai-Koper
Metro d.d. wanted to improve the efficiency of its international supply chain and reduce the costs of document handling. The company sought a solution to eliminate the time-consuming and costly paper-based processes.
Metro d.d., a clothing chain with 200 MANA stores in Central and Eastern Europe, conducted the world’s first blockchain-based bill of lading transfer.
In July 2018, Metro d.d. loaded a 20-foot container with 24.8 cubic metres and 3,752 kg of clothing in Shanghai, which arrived in Koper on 19 August 2018. Throughout the entire transport period, the bill of lading was fully managed digitally via the CargoX Smart B/L™ platform. The ship Ever Safety transported the goods, while a freight forwarder handled the logistics.
Cost savings of up to 85% in document processing compared to traditional paper-based processes.
The traditional paper-based bill of lading transfer often took several days or weeks and incurred high courier costs. The risk of document loss or damage posed an additional business risk, which was practically eliminated by the blockchain-based solution.
Tags
Digitalisation, Bill of Lading, Blockchain, Sea transport, Document management, Smart contract, Supply chain