This article provides an overview of:
- The importance of trade finance to international supply chains and how it works
- Why the sector in its traditional form is failing shippers in many parts of the world
- The opportunities this has provided for innovators and new technologies
- Some of the market entrants which are developing new trade finance products and platforms
- Blockchain and the role of ‘smart contracts’
- Opportunities for freight forwarders in their role as supply chain intermediaries
