Bill of Lading is according to Investopedia “a legal document issued by a carrier to a shipper that carries all the necessary details of the shipment such as type, quantity, and destination of the goods.”

The Bill of Lading acts as a shipment receipt. And it must be signed by an authorized representative from the carrier, shipper, and receiver. But the Bill of Lading will always be issued by the carrier or the agent.

Why is the Bill of Lading important?

This legal document serves three main purposes:

It provides the carrier and shipper all the necessary details of the goods (type, quantity, perishable, etc.). This helps in comparing the purchase order with the delivered order.

It is a receipt and invoice for the products being shipped.

It contains all the terms and conditions for the transportation process.

After a bill of lading has been issued there are only 2 ways the cargo will be released: by an endorsed original bill of lading (OBL) or with a telex release.

Types of Bill of Lading

Depending on the way of transporting the goods, there are majorly 4 types of Bill of Lading, also called Waybills. They are: Air Waybill (AWB), Rail Waybill, Road Waybill and Ocean Bill of Landing.