Business Printing Technologies Report
July/August 1999Special Report from DMIA's Freight Consultant
A New Bill of Lading Is Making the RoundsIf you thought things had quieted down on the bill of lading front after major revisions were made to the two bill of lading formats published in the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) in late 1997 and early 1998, think again.
A number of major manufacturers and retailers throughout the country — including companies such as Wal*Mart, Target Stores, Federated Department Stores, etc. — have joined together to develop a new, so-called Voluntary Inter-Industry Commerce Standards (VICS) bill of lading, complete with guidelines.
The joint effort expands the functions of the traditional bill of lading, which is a contract of carriage and a receipt for goods, to provide all of the essential information for processing goods through the supply chain to the shipper, carrier and consignee (customer). The bill of lading is being used more frequently for the scheduling and recording of shipments as well as input to carrier EDI transactions.
Actually, two new VICS bill of lading formats exist — one for truckload shipments and the other for less than truckload (LTL) shipments. The formats are identical except for a paragraph inserted near the lower left-hand corner of the bill of lading, beginning with the word "RECEIVED." The wording of the paragraph for truckload shipments is shorter than the verbiage used in the format for LTL shipments.
Basically, four key elements have been added to the VICS bill of lading format not found in the two revised bill of lading formats in the NMFC — the Uniform Straight Bill of Lading and the Straight Bill of Lading-Short Form. They are:
- Space at the top right-hand corner for inserting a unique bill of lading number, and right below that, space to affix a bar code containing that number.
- If the shipment is an LTL shipment and a PRO number is used, the SCAC/PRO (SCAC means Standard Carrier Alpha code) is also recommended to allow more accurate capture of data. (Space for affixing a SCAC/PRO Bar Code is provided in the third box down from the upper right-hand corner of the bill of lading.
- In a new "Customer Order Information" section located a third of the way down the bill, space is provided for listing each customer order number included in the shipment, along with a separate listing of the number of packages, weight, and pallets or slip sheets for each purchase order number.
- Space is provided for listing the consignee's location number in the "Ship To" section of the bill of lading.
The new VICS Bill of Lading was finalized and issued on February 1, 1999. Those companies involved have set an implementation date goal of January 1, 2001. However, some major receivers of freight, such as Target Stores, are already asking their vendors to use the VICS bill of lading in place of the standard at the earliest possible date.
If you would like more information about the new VICS bill of lading, including sample formats (a few are actually filled out to show how the completed forms should look) and the guidelines, you can access the VICS web site.
In the meantime, don't dispose of the bills of lading that you or your customer are currently using, including any you may have had printed up since the bills of lading in the NMFC were revised last year. They are still perfectly good and may continue to be used as your bills of lading of choice into the future, particularly when you may be shipping to customers who are not or will not be involved with the new VICS bill.
If, on the other hand, you service some of the major manufacturers and retailers, soon you may need to supplement your present supply of bills of lading with copies of the new VICS bill of lading, both truckload and the LTL version.
Ray Bohman of Bohman Industrial Traffic Consultants in Chatham, Mass., can be reached at 508/945-2272 (phone) or 508/945-4815 (fax). As a DMIA member benefit, members are entitled to up to one hour of free consultation per year with Bohman.