Bill of lading 101
So, you are going to ship your items across the world, huh? Well, rumor has it the international commerce is not a piece of cake. What’s more, it can be rather complicated, don’t you think? By and large, people can get stressed by so many details involved. Not to mention the paperchase can last forever. It does become irksome at some point, doesn’t it? The sea of information and double checking can make you on edge more often than not, right? Bill of lading, for instance. It can be so annoying to get it given the parties involved and the procedure that must be followed to a tee. Well, you can take it easy, thanks to a few tips and tricks on why it is relevant. Knowing this might help you cool your jets.
What is a Bill of Lading?
This is the international trade crucial document admissible in court in case things go down. It contains the shipment ins and outs in relation to confirming the items have been received and loaded. It is based on Bill of Lading that exports are entitled to a payment. Likewise, the importers are able to receive the goods due to this legally-binding document.
It is thus a paper trail the trade has happened, a proof of its existence. It’s the carrier’s job to issue it so as to verify the shipment cargo receipt. It contains destination, quantity and the type of shipped products. As the cross country trade business relocation involves the carrier, the one receiving the items and the shipping company, they all need to sign so that it is valid and effective immediately.
The role of it in freight commerce
This paper states unambiguously the due date for the shipment to reach its final destination and its Reference number followed by load particulars, the shipment weight, packaging type, and any other relevant data.
It facilitates the federal agencies’ job
More importantly, it reveals the shipper’s and receiver’s personal information such as name and last name and address so that they can’t get off the hook should any problem occur. Additionally, it offers purchase orders’ details and special instructions if any. This is pivotal if hazardous or toxic substances are shipped. The moving company must keep tabs on these kinds of shipments owing to the level of danger involved. The law enforcement agencies benefit from this if terrorists hijack the ship endangering public safety. Given the security has been severely breached recently, this is of paramount importance.
How does it work?
This document contains myriads of useful information. Namely,
- consignor’s (the one sending the goods) personal details
- consignee’ s (the one receiving the goods) personal information
- the vessel type specifications
- shipment origin
ports’ names
the detailed inventory list
cargo volume
freight rate
One must show this paper when taking the delivery to prove he is a legitimate freight commerce participant which confirms the trade. Additionally, Bill of Lading confirms the cargo ownership.
What’s more, the parties that had signed it use it in court as insurance coverage if items are damaged, broken or lost since this causes a severe financial loss. In brief, it is a legal compensation foundation.
Without this document, the commerce transaction is considered invalid. Both the transportation company and the shipper (a shipping agent) must review and sign it first.
How many kinds of BOL are there?
This document presents the core of the shipping process which begins with hiring a trustworthy moving company such as Evolution Moving Company DFW in order to carry out the international trade smoothly. In a nutshell, there are two kinds of Bill of lading: a straight bill of landing and open bill of landing.
- Straight bill of landing is non-negotiable. This means it is related to a specific person, the Consignee, whose name is pretty much set in stone. Unless he or she picks up the delivery, it simply won’t happen. No other person except for the Consignee can take over the items.
- On the other hand, the Consignee’s name can be changed in case of an open, a.k.a. a negotiable bill of landing. Consequently, the possessions can be transferred to another person(s) claiming them. It goes without saying the document must be filled out flawlessly.
Port-to-port vs combined transport Bill of Lading
Unlike Combined Transport BOL, Port-to-port means the carrier is in charge of the entire shipping process. His duties begin in a loading port and end up in the destination port. The carrier is therefore responsible for cargo loading and unloading. It can be anything, from appliances to cars.
Then again, Combined Transport includes third parties providing various services hired by a carrier. So, despite the carrier employes them, he doesn’t take care of the entire process but has someone else do that on his behalf. Still, he is to blame if anything gets broken, damaged, lost or goes missing. It’s common to get other participants to do part of a job especially if the workload is immense. After all, the deal is struck and all the parties must follow it to the letter.
Bill of Lading means the deal is made
To sum up, if international commerce is your area of expertise, you need to know a thing or two about its procedures and paperwork, right? That’s why you have to be familiar with BOL. Otherwise, that may cause a sea of serious problems for you and anyone else you are doing business with. On top of it, this will spread quickly through word-of-mouth. Are you aware of how much a bad recommendation can harm you? Let us not forget this is a world of referrals. For that reason, it is important to do everything in your power to get excellent ones. However, that won’t happen if you fail to study Bill of Lading. So, get down to it!