A bill of lading is the paper that goes with a freight shipment: it says who's shipping, who's receiving, who pays, and what's on the truck, and it's signed by you when the carrier picks up and by the customer when it arrives. For a small producer, it tends to show up with the first distributor or grocery chain order that goes out on pallets by a freight carrier instead of in a box by parcel. Below is what goes on one, a filled-in example for two pallets of salsa, how the freight's density is worked out, why the lot numbers belong on it, and a free template that does the arithmetic.
The short version
- Use a straight bill of lading: consigned to a named customer, not negotiable.
- Shipper, consignee, and who pays the freight if it's someone else.
- The references: your number, the carrier's PRO number, the customer's PO number.
- Each line: pallets, cases, weight, description, freight class, dimensions.
- Measure the pallets: density decides the freight class for much of what ships.
- Write the lot numbers on it, even though the form doesn't ask for them.
- Three signatures: you at pickup, the driver, and the customer at delivery.
- TaroStack doesn't print the bill of lading; it keeps the shipment behind it, with the lots each customer got. More below.
What goes on a bill of lading
A for-hire motor carrier moving freight between states has to issue a receipt or bill of lading that shows, at least, the names of the shipper and the consignee, the origin and destination, the number of packages, a description of the freight, and its weight, volume or measurement where that's how it's rated (49 CFR 373.101). In practice the shipper fills one in, on the carrier's form or a standard one like this, and the carrier signs it at pickup.
| Part | What it holds |
|---|---|
| References | Bill of lading number, date, carrier, the carrier's PRO number, freight terms (prepaid, collect, or third party), the customer's PO numbers, the trailer's seal number |
| Ship from | Your name, address, and a contact at the dock |
| Ship to | The customer's name and address, and their receiving hours or appointment |
| Bill freight to | Who pays, if it isn't you or the customer: a broker, or the customer's freight account |
| What's shipped | For each line: handling units (pallets), packages (cases), weight, a hazardous materials mark, a description, the NMFC item and freight class, the dimensions |
| Instructions | Glass, don't double stack, liftgate, call ahead |
| Value and COD | A declared value, or cash on delivery, if either applies |
| Signatures | You at pickup, the driver with the pieces counted, the customer at delivery |
The consignee signs "received in good order except as noted": if a pallet arrives crushed or a case short, that's where it's written, and it's what a freight claim starts from. Hazardous materials need much more than this form; salsa, candles and soap generally aren't, but check before you ship anything flammable.
A filled-in example: two pallets of salsa
Saguaro Salsa Co., a made-up salsa maker in Tucson, Arizona, I use in these examples, ships its first distributor order: two pallets of jarred salsa to a natural foods distributor in Albuquerque, prepaid.
| Description | Lot numbers | Pallets | Cases | Weight, lb | L x W x H, in | Cubic feet | Pounds a cubic foot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salsa roja, 16 oz glass jars, 12 to a case | SR-261012A, SR-261014A | 1 | 60 | 1,250 | 48 x 40 x 40 | 44.4 | 28.2 |
| Salsa verde, 16 oz glass jars, 12 to a case | SV-261013A | 1 | 60 | 1,250 | 48 x 40 x 40 | 44.4 | 28.2 |
| Total | 2 | 120 | 2,500 | 88.8 | 28.2 |
Each case of 12 jars weighs about 20 pounds, so a pallet of 60 cases, five layers of 12, is 1,200 pounds of salsa and about 50 pounds of pallet. The instructions say what matters to the driver: glass, don't double stack, dock delivery, call receiving a day ahead. The customer's PO number goes on the bill of lading so the distributor's receiving dock can match the pallets to its order; what a good PO carries is in what should a purchase order include.
Freight class, and why to measure
Less-than-truckload carriers price a shipment by its weight, the distance, and its freight class from the National Motor Freight Classification. For much of what small producers ship, the class comes from density, the pounds in each cubic foot: the denser the freight, the lower the class and the cheaper each pound. The density is the weight divided by the cubic feet, and the cubic feet are length × width × height in inches, divided by 1,728:
48 × 40 × 40 = 76,800 cubic inches ÷ 1,728 = 44.4 cubic feet, and 1,250 pounds ÷ 44.4 = 28.2 pounds a cubic foot.
The freight class for that density comes from the NMFC's tables, through your carrier or broker; the classification changes, so ask them rather than using last year's class. NMFTA, which publishes it, recommends recording exact dimensions on every bill of lading, since density plays a larger role in classification (NMFTA). A carrier that measures a pallet bigger than the bill of lading says can reclass it and bill the difference. Shipping food that has to stay cold is a different job; see shipping perishable food for a small business.
Why the lot numbers belong on it
A bill of lading doesn't need lot numbers, but writing them there costs a minute and answers the question a recall asks: which customer got which lot. If lot SR-261012A has a problem, the bill of lading says it went to Albuquerque on October 19, on PRO 4471-0093, on the same pallet as SR-261014A and next to the verde. That's one step forward in one up, one back traceability, and how to make lot codes like these is in how to create lot numbers.
Bill of lading, packing slip, and freight bill
| Document | Who it's for | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Bill of lading | The carrier, you and the customer | Who ships to whom, what's on the truck, signed at both ends |
| Packing slip | The customer's receiving dock | What's inside the cases, item by item, against the order |
| Freight bill | Whoever pays the freight | The carrier's invoice for moving it |
A distributor's receiving dock usually wants both the bill of lading and a packing slip. What distributors and grocery buyers ask of a new supplier is in selling to grocery stores requirements, and what a distributor keeps of the price is in distributor margin.
Get the template
Download the bill of lading template. Two sheets: a blank bill of lading that prints on one landscape page, where the cubic feet and pounds a cubic foot fill in from each line's pallets, weight and dimensions, with totals; and the salsa shipment above, filled in, with made-up names and addresses. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers. Your carrier may want its own form, or the bill of lading from its website; the information is the same.
Where this stops working
A bill of lading in a spreadsheet is typed from somewhere: the cases picked, the lots on them, the customer's PO. With a shipment or two a week, that's fine. With pallets to three distributors, parcels to shops and a recall drill on the calendar, the lots on the paperwork and the lots that left the building drift apart.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack doesn't print the bill of lading. It keeps the shipment behind it.
The order and the picking list. A distributor's order is a sales order with its PO number. One picking list says which cases to pull from which lots, the soonest dates first, and scanning the cases on the way out checks it.
The lots each customer got. When the shipment goes, the lots in it are recorded against the customer, and the delivery note goes with it, so the lot numbers on the bill of lading are the ones TaroStack already has.
A recall in one report. Which batches used an ingredient lot, which customers got them, and what's still on your shelves, in one report, and a timed traceability drill you can show a buyer.
| The job | Spreadsheet | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which lots to ship | Whatever's in front | Picking list, soonest dates first |
| The lots on the paperwork | Typed from the pallet | Recorded as it ships |
| Who got lot SR-261012A | Search the bills of lading | One recall report |
| A buyer's traceability drill | An afternoon | Timed and logged |
Sales orders, picking lists, lots and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.