The challenge
Global Tea, a UK-based distributor handling over 70 million kilograms of tea annually, faced the inefficiency of paper-heavy trade processes. Managing seaway bills, promissory notes, and collections required physical transport, manual signatures, and lengthy verification. At times, it took up to a week to complete the documentation needed for international shipments.
When the pandemic forced teams to work remotely, the strain of paper-based workflows became even more acute. As Group Finance Controller Rhodrick Kalumpha recalls:
“Before we switched to trace:original, it could take up to a week to manage the documents required to complete international shipments.”
The solution
Working with Lloyds Bank and Enigio, Global Tea adopted the trace:original digital envelope.
Under the new arrangement:
- Global Tea digitises all weekly trade documents — including originals issued by Maersk.
- These are securely transferred to Lloyds via trace:original for verification and holding.
- Lloyds issues a digital promissory note, enabling release of goods without delay.
Because only the creating party needs to be onboarded, the solution was quick to implement and required no heavy IT integration — a true turnkey shift from paper to digital.
The impact
The change has been transformative:
- Time cut from a week to minutes for document handling
- End-to-end trade processes now completed in less than 24 hours
- Predictability for logistics partners like Maersk, with “no waiting for documents to catch up”
- A significant reduction in paperwork, freeing employee resources
Kalumpha sums up the benefits:
“Now we do it in just a few minutes once a week, allowing us to meet deadlines with ease and improve our service to suppliers and logistics partners.”
What Global Tea, Lloyds, Maersk, and Enigio have achieved
- First-time milestone: Maersk issued its documentation via Enigio’s platform.
- Lloyds integrated the solution into its Digital Documentary Collections offering, ensuring safe, secure flows.
- Global Tea has already digitised 10% of trade flows with Enigio and targets 60% within 12 months.
As Jon Boran, Head of Future Trade Products at Lloyds, explains:
“Moving to an entirely digital process has significantly reduced the time it takes for Global Tea to complete a trade transaction — safely and securely — allowing them to trade more efficiently on a global scale.”
And from Maersk’s perspective, Lars Karlsson adds:
“With trace:original, the entire process of document exchange becomes part of the seamless flow of goods. There’s no waiting for documents to catch up.”
Finally, Enigio’s Alex Waites highlights the bigger picture:
“The digital envelope is central to the ongoing digitalisation of trade processes. It’s fast, secure, and environmentally friendly.”
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