Electronic bill of lading: Effects and benefits for maritime transport in Turkey

Nowadays, with the acceleration of electronic transactions, fundamental changes are taking place in all areas of trade. The technology used in transportation has also been adapted to this and all kinds of transport documents used in the transportation of goods, especially by sea and air, have been prepared and used electronically. The most important of these documents in maritime transport will undoubtedly be an electronic bill of lading. In the research, first of all, the traditional bill of lading was mentioned and the electronic bill of lading was focused on. The aim of this research is to investigate the perspectives and uses of electronic bill of lading by companies that are pioneers in maritime transportation. In the study, data collection and in-depth interview techniques were used from qualitative research methods. Within the scope of the research, interviews were conducted with 8 senior managers of companies related to this field using the in-depth interview method. In order to address the participants, 20 interview questions were created and their opinions were taken regarding the use of electronic bill of lading. The findings obtained were examined by content analysis. According to the results of the research, it has been determined that companies are not yet ready to use electronic bill of lading due to lack of technical and legal infrastructure. Since it is considered that the use of electronic bill of lading will accelerate the maritime trade, it is of great importance that all stakeholders switch to this use. It has been concluded that the implementation of this transition process should not be left solely to the initiative of stakeholders and should be standardized with state support.