Easy Understanding of Bill of Lading

Easy Understanding of Bill of Lading

What is Bill of Lading?

Bill of Lading is a kind of shipping document which has record of every items that are being shipped from the supplier to the receiver through a freight forwarder. With the provision of a Bill of Lading shipments that arrive or yet to arrive at the final destination can easily be tracked. This also helps in tracking the location of the shipments at any given point and it helps in checking damages, if any has occurred during transit by cross validating the condition of the items that are shipped from the source destination. Not only that, Bill of Lading also givesdetails with respect to size,density and weight of the items for proper invoicing.

Details on Bill of Lading
In Bill of Laden includes the following:

- Names and addresses of the shipper and receiver
- Purchase order numbers
- Pick up and drop off dates (schedules)
- Freight size, weight and dimensions
- Signature space for shipper/Carrier and receiver
- If there are hazardous items, a special instructions would be provided.

Though a Bill of Lading contains all the basic information, but each company will have a different way of formatting the document which for a few it becomes a little confusing to read or easily understand, if familiar with only one style of format.

Let’s look at the sections available in a bill of lading:

Shipper information:

In this columnall the information related to shipper is available. The shipper’s name, address, and the contact information. Also, the purchase order number and scheduled pickup time and date.

Shipment reference number:

This reference number is provided to help in tracking the shipment and to know where it’s heading to. Consignee information The basic information related to the consignee is also added to the bill of lading. The consignee name, address and the detail of contact updated.

Freight details
This includes freight details section along with the information on how the goods are to be handled and the total cost of the shipment including:

• Dimensions(height, width, length)
• Number of items
• Weight of the shipment
• Special handling instructions
• Freight class

Carrier details

In this section, all the carrier details are provided, which is responsible for transporting goods from point of origin to the destination. It will also outline all details such as name, carrier ID and other information that has to be a part of the section.

Price and Payment

In this section is defined the rate paid to the carrier to transport freight to its final destination.

Declared value

Here the total cost of the freight is provided. This section provides support to get compensation for the loss in case of any loss or damage.

Signatures and Dates

This is the part where all the parties who are party to the shipment completely attest and acknowledge all information provided in the bill of lading.