The challenge
SmartLoC(opens in new tab) operates a disruptive business model with a lot of moving parts — exporters, importers, banks, and logistics all in play at once, and a deal can start from either side. Both parties need reassurance: the exporter that they'll get paid, the importer that what they're paying for will actually arrive.
The instrument traditionally used to bridge that gap, the letter of credit, is an ancient bank process that hasn't evolved to match how fast modern trade moves.
The solution
SmartLoC sits at the matching point between exporters and importers, combining credit risk management with real-time shipment monitoring via IoT. Working with Enigio, SmartLoC added a critical piece: digitising promissory notes(opens in new tab) through Enigio's trace:original, a digital notary service.
Easy to integrate with SmartLoC's trading partners, it turns a paper-bound instrument into a digital original that moves as fast as the deal itself.
The impact
For SmartLoC's customers, digitisation doesn't just save time — it makes deals possible that wouldn't have happened otherwise. "It brings a lot of satisfaction, because all of a sudden things can happen that normally wouldn't," says Britta Balden, founder and managing director of SmartLoC.
"Where before we could give up or lose a sales channel, now both parties can find a reliable platform to set up a trustful relationship."
Combined with shipment monitoring, the result is a bridge between trading partners that's digital, easy, and trustworthy end to end.
As Balden sums it up: "They are building bridges between partners. Digitally, it is possible and easy — Enigio is really helping us a lot."
What SmartLoC achieved
- Digitised promissory notes via Enigio's trace:original, removing a paper-bound instrument from the trade cycle
- Built a single matching point for exporters and importers to manage credit risk together, rather than negotiating trust from scratch on every deal
- Combined digital promissory notes with IoT shipment monitoring, giving both parties visibility alongside the payment instrument itself
- Opened up deals and sales channels that previously wouldn't have gone through at all