Cargill Australia, a major provider of grain, oilseeds and other agricultural commodities, used the advanced functionality and speed of the new Bolero International Galileo trade finance platform to accelerate a canola oil shipment to China, meeting a tight deadline despite the current coronavirus difficulties.
Transferring two electronic bills of lading (eBLs) on Galileo, Cargill Australia completed the transaction in two days, with ePresentation sent from Australia on 27th April, and the eBLs surrendered on 30th April, before the start of the May Day holidays in China on 1st May.
Loading in Australia took place between 12th and 15th April and ePresentation was achieved before the vessel docked at Nantong. The shipment comprised two parcels of canola oil loaded in, respectively, Newcastle and Melbourne, Australia.
“The enhanced speed and operational simplicity of Galileo gave us major advantages when we wanted to hit a tight deadline despite the disruption to normal trade processes caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” said David Werner, Trade Execution Manager, Cargill Australia. “Galileo enabled us to complete this transaction before the Chinese holiday without compromising on security or having to cut corners on efficiency.”
Launched in February this year, Bolero’s new Galileo trade finance platform is designed to future-proof digital trade services for corporates, carriers, banks and other eco-systems. With an enhanced user experience, the new platform delivers greater functionality and seamless integration with banks and other third-party systems, providing end-to-end visibility to corporate clients and banks.
Andrew Raymond, CEO of, Bolero said: “We’re thrilled that Cargill Australia has shown how our new Galileo trade finance platform makes export transactions safer, smarter and faster, no matter how demanding the circumstances. What Cargill Australia achieved would never have been possible with paper bills of lading. The speed and simplicity of digital presentation overcame all the problems generated by the pandemic, with bank branches shut, staff in short supply and social distancing measures in force.
“With Galileo we have the platform to make trade digitisation simpler and easier to deploy, providing banks, corporates and carriers with a new, highly connected, digital eco-system. Paper bills of lading should be consigned to history.”
The Galileo trade finance platform provides corporate and bank users with a new look and feel as well as expanded functionality. Its cutting-edge design provides a more intuitive, more secure, end-to-end user experience. Via a single log-in, users manage all trade services in one place with a consolidated view of all transactions for faster, more informed decisions that optimise cash-flow and working capital.
Galileo provides a single point of access so that users can create, edit and manage letters of credit, electronic presentations and guarantees, as well as open account transactions and electronic bills of lading. Bolero is also introducing value-added services in areas such as compliance and e-certificates of origin. In combination with other market leading solutions, Galileo can provide a one-stop-shop for Bolero clients.
Behind this is a flexible, modular and scalable platform, with the aim to provide interoperability through a new API infrastructure. Galileo integrates with back-office, treasury, ERP, and blockchain-based eco-systems. Available now, it will replace the current Bolero platform and will deliver significant enhancements to Bolero’s existing trade applications and network.