PIDX International Releases Bill of Lading (BOL) Implementation Guidelines

HOUSTON, May 26, 2023 (Newswire.com) - PIDX International, with the support of its Members, announces its new Bill of Lading (BOL) Implementation Guidelines.

As the Downstream market is evolving, PIDX - as a technology-agnostic format - is being used worldwide to replace dozens of legacy formats using outdated information and inconsistently using required data, such as product codes and BOL versioning, and to find missing transactions in master data. PIDX standards can be fully integrated with any buyer or seller's system, regardless of which one they use, with the ability to contain detailed, company-specific information.

When business transactions occur in the Energy Downstream sector, a multitude of documents are generated to ensure that products are ordered, shipped, and received. The electronic bill of lading (eBOL), issued by the terminal operator, provides information on the type of product, quantity, and destination to the parties in the supply chain. This document is required, as it serves as both a receipt for the product and a legal contract between the parties within the supply chain. The transmission of eBOL data helps assist the successful delivery of goods and services and prevent asset loss.

The new implementation guidelines were created to support the PIDX 5.02 schemas, developed to harmonize the communication between energy companies, terminals, and clearing houses.  The guidelines provide clarity around the use of negative quantities in postings, with the aim being that if a post is made with a mistake, it should be corrected and posted again, with the re-posting belonging to the same transaction. In earlier versions of the PIDX 5.02 standard, there was no guidance around the use of negative quantities. According to Thomas Kockisch, bp, and Chair of the PIDX Bill of Lading (BOL) Guidelines Project Team, "Version 5 was built on what was known, taking into account new technologies and additional business requirements to make it a global standard. We added fields, action codes, and posting types. The standard supports both outgoing and incoming movements."

The PIDX Downstream Work Group's mission is to support organizations participating in the Energy Industry's downstream market and promote process and technology standards that facilitate seamless and efficient digital business for downstream organizations. According to Kris Pronske, DTN, and Downstream Work Group Chair, "PIDX Downstream helps reduce IT and administrative costs, increases the speed and reliability of information, and increases control for managing allocations, exchanging balances, and credit risk."

ABOUT PIDX INTERNATIONAL

Based in Houston, Texas, PIDX International is a trusted professional organization of Energy Industry leaders dedicated to working together to standardize data exchange for digital business. PIDX has developed global standards by and for all participants in the Energy Industry. With a strong antitrust framework at its foundation, PIDX provides a trusted and proven environment for operators, suppliers, and network providers to communicate, collaborate, and transform. To learn more, visit www.pidx.org, and follow us on LinkedIn.