Understanding the Bill of Lading Form Life Cycle

The bill of lading form has been a cornerstone of shipping and logistics for hundreds of years, evolving alongside technological advances and industry demands. Today, as digital solutions transform supply chains, businesses and consumers expect more detailed, transparent information from these essential legal documents.

A bill of lading form—whether traditional or electronic (eBOL)—serves as a crucial contract that defines who is legally responsible for goods at each step in the shipping process. It protects manufacturers, shippers, carriers, and everyone involved in the supply chain.

In this post, we’ll explore the life cycle of a modern bill of lading form and how advanced versions can boost accountability and transparency. We’ll also look at the benefits of adopting these forms and address some challenges businesses might face.

Let’s dive in!

What Is a Bill of Lading Form?

Ever wonder how your package knows precisely where to go and who it belongs to? That’s where the Bill of Lading (BOL) form comes in. It’s not just a boring piece of paper; it’s the most essential document in shipping, acting like your cargo’s passport, receipt, and travel contract all rolled into one.

Here’s why it’s so vital:

• Your Proof of Shipment: When carriers pick up your goods, they sign the BOL. It’s their way of saying, “Yep, got it!” – a clear receipt that your items are now in their hands.
• The Travel Contract: This form outlines the agreement between you (the shipper) and the carrier. It details who’s sending what, where it’s going, and under what conditions. Getting your goods from point A to point B is a legal promise.
• Who Owns What: In many cases, especially for big shipments, the BOL even proves who legally owns the goods. If you hold the original, you control the cargo.

Essentially, the BOL form is the single source of truth for your shipment. It tells everyone involved—from the driver to the warehouse manager—precisely what’s being shipped, where it’s headed, and who’s responsible.

How a Bill of Lading Enhances Accountability and Transparency

How can logistics providers and manufacturers provide the accountability and transparency that many consumers are demanding? An expanded, high-tech, ultra-sophisticated BOL could help.

The move to electronic bills of lading (eBOLs) has been going on for the past few years. But we haven’t unlocked their full potential. Let’s see how eBOLs can serve us even better.

What Does a Digital Bill of Lading Life Cycle Look Like?

Here’s one way a high-tech, transparent BOL could play out.

Let’s say a golf club company has its headquarters in the United States and has manufacturing plants in Asia. At each step in the example below, ask yourself, what would the purchase order (PO) look like? How would the BOL work?

• Four retailers process orders for 2,500 clubs each from the same golf club company.
• The golf club company processes the request for 10,000 golf clubs.
• The company orders aluminum, steel, rubber, glue, and other raw materials from various suppliers.
• The plant receives all of this material and assembles the golf clubs.
• A third-party carrier picks up the load in China and brings it to a port.
• The maritime shipper brings the clubs to a port in the United States.
• A freight forwarder breaks the load into four shipments for different distribution centers (DCs).
• Each DC then breaks down each shipment into four loads for five retail locations, totaling 20 different shipments.
• All of this rolls up into one master BOL so you can trace each individual club from its origin and PO.

Why bother doing all of this? Let’s explore the benefits.

Challenges of Implementing an Electronic Bill of Lading Form

Consumers have more questions than ever about where products came from and who helped create them. For instance, does that chocolate bar contain cocoa harvested through child labor? Or is that dining room table made of illegally traded rosewood, an endangered hardwood known as “ivory of the forest”?

Logistics experts and the manufacturers they work with want to give customers the legal, ethically sourced products they demand. And a company that ignores sustainability or environmental impacts may suffer at the hands of the media and consumers.

According to a recent global survey, 85 percent of consumers reported focusing more on sustainability in the past five years—and the younger the consumer, the more likely they were to cite sustainability as a pressing issue. Ignoring where a product’s raw materials came from or how it was made means that you risk damaging your company’s reputation.

Using a master BOL (you could call it a super-BOL) would provide incredible transparency and accountability. If a type of wood became endangered, a type of glue turned out to be hazardous to the environment, or a method of labor proved controversial, then the manufacturer or retailer would be able to pinpoint which items were problematic. Consumers and retailers would have detailed information to reassure them that a specific product is ethical and sustainable.

Another area in which transparency and accountability are essential is the health and wellness industry. People want to know what’s in the vaccines and medications they take, where they came from, and who made them. Jason Dearen’s nonfiction book Kill Shot: A Shadow Industry, A Deadly Disease describes the horrific consequences of ineptly manufactured medications being injected into patients’ eyes and spinal cords. A master BOL would give hospitals, doctors, and patients more security.

Don’t forget the small advantages, too. Because this type of BOL would be electronic, using it would allow companies to avoid using excess paper and toner, and they wouldn’t have to spend money on storing, archiving, and then shredding or otherwise destroying paper copies. Those little costs add up, and avoiding them helps keep money in wallets—and paper and ink out of landfills or incinerators.

Disadvantages of This Life Cycle 

To make this life cycle a reality, local, regional, and national governments would need to cooperate and standardize their systems. Businesses would need to provide sensitive information about raw materials sourcing—information that might put them at a disadvantage if their competitors found out about it. And the logistics industry would need to train its people on new methods and systems.

Those are big asks! But they are technologically possible now, if consumers and manufacturers demand it and if logistics companies are willing to make changes. And some organizations such as Vector and the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) are already at work on making this a reality.

Expert Insights on the Future of Bill of Lading

Logistics consultant Jack Carbone specializes in new supply chain information systems. Here’s what he had to say about the proposed BOL described above.

“When you get into the bill of lading, you’re expanding your contacts to include banking institutions because sometimes stuff is moved under a letter of credit,” Carbone explains. “You’re also expanding the parties that are interested in the bill of lading to customs organizations. And I would say those two things, more than anything else, probably make it more difficult to standardize, although the DCSA is really attempting to move toward that.”

How the DCSA Supports Digital Bill of Lading Form Adoption

The DCSA is a nonprofit group of container lines that’s dedicated to creating common processes and standards within the shipping industry. Part of this effort involves getting shipping companies to adopt software that communicates effectively, even if different companies choose different types or configurations of software. The goal is interoperability for logistics professionals and the companies that hire them. A high-tech, transparent BOL would help tremendously with interoperability.

In 2021, a majority of the DCSA’s nine members agreed to abide by its track-and-trace standards. This is a significant step toward interoperability. According to Eric Johnson at the Journal of Commerce, the move “marks progress in getting the systems of container lines to play nice with one another, overcoming an ingrained tendency to see proprietary systems as a competitive advantage.”

Here are the DCSA member companies that are already using the group’s track-and-trace standards:

• Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), a Swiss-Italian company and currently the largest shipping container line
• CMA CGM Group, a French company with more than 250 shipping routes
• Evergreen Line, a Taiwanese company best known in popular culture as the owners of the Ever Given, a ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal
• the Japan-based company Ocean Network Express (ONE)
• the Taiwanese company Yang Ming Marine Transport

These organizations are heavy hitters in the industry. Therefore, their adoption of standards that improve interoperability means that other, smaller companies are likely to follow suit.

It also means that new, agile, up-and-coming companies are likely to try to outdo these organizations and provide an even friendlier, more seamless experience—including the single pane of glass experience that so many companies have been seeking, in which up-to-date information from different systems is all available on one screen.

What to Expect When Transitioning to Digital Bill of Lading Form

Transitioning to a digital bill of lading form brings significant changes, especially in interoperability standards. As logistics consultant Jack Carbone explains using the golf club example, “All the components that go into a golf club become irrelevant once the structure is built. You’re importing a golf club, not all the detailed components.”

However, this ambitious shift is likely to encounter some challenges. Carbone notes shipments, such as the Importer Security Filing (ISF), often require accompanying forms. For example, “A third-party carrier can’t bring a load to the port until the ISF filing is submitted at least 24 hours before the ship departs.”

Additional complications include inconsistencies, such as railroads and ports using codes of varying lengths. Since many ports are vast, implementing subcodes to designate specific areas within a port would significantly improve accuracy and efficiency.

The Future of the Bill of Lading Form in Global Supply Chains

The technology needed to expand and enhance the bill of lading form life cycle is broadly available today. However, achieving widespread adoption will require cooperation among local, national, and international governments and commitment from manufacturers, shippers, and businesses to invest in the necessary training and software. Despite these challenges, a more advanced and transparent bill of lading form will likely become the industry standard as demand for traceability and accountability grows. Industries like fashion are already leading the way in product traceability, and many others will follow.

Ready to streamline your shipping process? Get started today with a customizable bill of lading template from Vector and take control of your supply chain documentation.

FAQs about Bill of Lading Form:

1.- What is a bill of lading form?
A bill of lading form is a legal document between a shipper and carrier that details the type, quantity, and destination of goods being shipped.

2.- Can I make my bill of lading?
Yes, you can create your bill of lading using templates, but it must include all essential shipping details to be legally valid.

3.- Where can I download a blank bill of lading?
You can download a blank bill of lading form from Vector or other logistics websites offering customizable BOL templates.

What is a bill of lading document?
A bill of lading document is a contract, receipt, and title for shipped goods outlining responsibilities between the shipper, carrier, and receiver.4.-

This post was written by Kirsti MacPherson. Kirsti writes and edits material for content marketers, educational publishers, nonprofits, and corporate trainers.