Bill of Lading (BOL)

A bill of lading is the foundational document in freight shipping. It travels with every load – FTL, LTL, intermodal, or ocean – and serves three roles at once: a receipt confirming the carrier has accepted the goods, a contract defining the terms of transport, and in some cases a document of title that controls ownership of the freight. The shipper or their TMS typically generates the BOL at the time of tender, and the carrier signs it at pickup.

A standard BOL includes the shipper and consignee names and addresses, origin and destination, a description of the goods (commodity, piece count, weight, packaging type), NMFC codes for LTL classification, any special handling instructions, and reference numbers like PO numbers or release order numbers. For regulated commodities, hazmat documentation – including UN numbers, proper shipping names, and emergency contact information – must be incorporated directly into or attached to the BOL.

Getting the BOL right matters more than most teams realize. Incorrect weights or NMFC codes lead to reclassification charges, wrong addresses cause failed deliveries, and missing hazmat details create compliance violations and potential fines. In an LTL environment especially, BOL accuracy directly determines whether the carrier invoices the correct freight class – errors here are one of the most common sources of billing disputes. A clean BOL also strengthens your position in freight claims, since it establishes the shipment's condition and contents at origin.

Many shippers still build BOLs manually – copying product data from spreadsheets, looking up NMFC codes, and formatting documents per carrier requirements. This is slow and error-prone. Modern TMS platforms pull directly from the item master catalog to auto-populate product details, dimensions, and classification codes, generating carrier-compliant BOLs the moment a load is tendered.