A Short Guide To Bill of Lading

Are you an importer or exporter involved in the global trade and looking for a guide on a bill of lading? Then this blog can help you. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to read a bill of lading, why it is important, what it includes and how to use it in international transactions. Keep reading to know.

Being an importer or exporter, when you ship or receive goods across the world, you have to take care of lots of paperwork and you cannot afford to neglect any of those documents, no matter how tedious they are. One of those important trade documents that every global trader needs to be aware of while dealing internationally is none other than the “Bill of Lading”. A bill of lading is one of the most common yet essential documents in the shipping and logistic industry.

What Is A Bill Of Lading?

• Also known as B/L or BOL, a bill of lading is a legal transport document that acts as a contract of carriage regardless of whether you are importing or exporting, dealing with ocean freight or air freight.
• It is a type of shipping receipt that contains all the relevant information about the shipment.
• In simple words, it carries the details of items that have been shipped from a supplier to a receiver through a freight carrier.
• It has a vital role in import/export transactions as it ensures the receiver that the number and types of the shipped items are the same items that have been ordered and arrived at their final destination.
• It serves as a document of title as well as provides parties with the details important for correct invoicing.

A Bill Of Lading Contains The Following Details:

Depending on the type of BOL issued under several trade finance instruments, various information can be seen on the document including:

• Names and addresses of both the shipper and recipient
• Purchase orders or reference numbers
• Pre-described pickup and dropoff dates
• A detailed description of the goods being shipped such as size, value, weight, etc.
• Type of packaging for any special handling protocols including hazardous materials.
• Signatures of all involved parties ie. shipper, carrier, receiver
• Any instructions for shipping
• BOL number etc.

How To Read A Bill Of Lading?

Though maximum bills of lading contain similar basic information, it can vary from company to company in terms of different layouts or different aspects of B/L. It is easy to get confused while you are trying to read a BOL. To help you out here, we have gathered a few common pieces of information that all bills of lading have. Let’s have a look:

1. Shipper Information — It is the section that bears the information of the shipper/exporter such as the exporter’s name, company name, address and contact information, etc. Since the bill of lading acts as a contract of carriage, the shipper’s details have to be displayed. It also includes the purchase order number along with the decided freight pickup date and time while the number of freight codes denotes any special shipping or handling instructions.
2. Consignee Information — It is the section where consignee or receiver’s details are shown ie. the details for the place where the freight is ending up at its final destination. It includes the receiver’s name, company name, address and contact information, etc. All other things are the same as the shipper section such as decided delivery date & time, special handling requirements and freight codes, etc.
3. Cargo/Carrier Information -This section contains the details about the cargo or carrier that is transporting goods from the supplier to the receiver. It includes name, carrier ID, or quote ID number as well as other important information.
4. Freight Details -This area contains the most important part of the whole BOL ie. shipped goods details. It includes the number, total weight, size dimensions, and class of items shipped along with the special handling requirements.
5. Port of Loading And Discharge — It is the most ignored or overlooked information while reading a bill of lading but they are important ones. Port of loading means the details for a place where the cargo will be loaded while the port of discharging means where it will be arriving.
6. Price And Payment — It details how much shipped goods cost to ship ie. it is the rate that you are paying the cargo for delivering your freight to the final destination.
7. Total Value — It contains the details of how much the total value of your freight. This is important as in case of loss or damage to the shipment, it will decide compensation for your loss.
8. Signatures — All parties to the contract should acknowledge their interest and attest the information on the BOL.
9. BOL No. — It means a unique control number to reference the bill of lading.
10. Freight Payable At — It includes origin or destination on which freight is payable.

Bills of lading are very important to ensure the successful transportation of goods. They are legally binding agreements that help the supplier process the cargo according to the original terms & conditions mentioned in the contract.