Imagine the electronic progress of a coffee shipment
from sale to delivery as a highway along which there are a number of stops where
different actions take place: the coffee is contracted, bagged, weighed,
transported, stuffed into containers, cleared, shipped, invoiced, paid,
discharged, cleared, trucked inland and delivered to the roaster. At each stop
documents and advices are initiated and are slotted into the electronic master
envelope that represents the physical shipment. When the envelope reaches the
buyer it contains all the required documentation and the buyer pays for the
goods.
This is no different from the traditional way of
physically collecting all the bits of paper and signatures at every stage and
couriering them to the buyer or their bank. Except the electronic method is
entirely secure, it is neutral and it takes much less time. It also provides a
precise and instantaneous record of each step or action that is taken along the
way, and of who takes it. At all times each party will know what has been said
to whom and by who, thus avoiding misunderstandings and mistakes.