Have you ever lost a shipment in transit? Maybe it is because the bill of lading was missing or maybe part of the info was missing. Trying to remedy this situation can be a real headache.
There are a few really simple steps to making sure your shipment gets where it is going. First, make sure the bill of lading is completely filled out. This should include shippers address and receivers address, but that is not all that needs to be on a bill of lading. A tag that says “to and from” will get a box from Santa to all the good little boys and girls but freight carriers need more than that. A bill of lading needs to include the number of boxes or skids in the shipment. The contents should also be a part of the bill of lading. Typically, a packing slip is included with a complete item count and may be attached with the bill of lading. The bill of lading will still need a general description of the goods being shipped written directly on it. Another piece of information that needs to be on a bill of lading is the name of the carrier that is supposed to carry the shipment. This is very important if you have many shipments with different carriers picking them up. Having to much information on a bill of lading is much better than not having enough information on there.
Once the bill of lading is complete, the best practice is to make a total of three copies. Give the carrier the original; keep a copy for your own records. The third copy should be attached to the shipment in a document envelope that sticks to the freight. This is a fail safe measure that only takes a second but can save the shipper a lot of time if the original paperwork gets lost along the way.
Making sure your bill of lading is complete and using three copies will save time searching for or worse yet trying to reproduce paperwork in the future.
