13.1 Introduction

For centuries, the bill of lading has been issued on a piece of paper in standard A4 size format. The end of the ‘paper age’ has been brought about by the introduction of computers, which in combination with telecommunication systems have enabled development of a new kind of transmission of business data. This new way of creating and communicating information is referred to as electronic commerce, or e-commerce, and “includes any computer or other technology by means of which information or other matter may be recorded or communicated without being reduced to documentary form”.1