When a company has outsourced its storage and order fulfillment warehouse operations to a 3rd party distribution center, the receiving process takes on added importance. This is because the company is relying on that warehouse to be their last check to make sure the products they have ordered are getting delivered in good shape and in the correct quantity.
Aside from simply storing and reporting on inventory levels of products being keep on site, a warehouse is the inspection and counting inbound product. Since the customer is not able to do it themselves, the 3rd party warehouse has to play that role – and do it right.
One important step to ensure the Receiving process runs efficiently and accurately is for inbound shipments follow any procedure the warehouse may have in place for an ASN (Advanced Shipping Notification). The ASN is a heads up to the warehouse that product is coming in and helps the facility be prepared to inbound the material.
This also speeds up the time it takes for the product to be entered into inventory, and of course be available for filling future orders.
The following are general steps in the Receiving Process:
Before signing the Bill of Lading:
Check for visual damages to cartons and product
Count verification against the Bill of Lading
Once the product is unloaded from the carrier:
Verification of product id’s/ SKU’s and quantities against the ASN
Further visual inspection for damages
Lot/ Serialization number recording into WMS
Product put-away
Getting the receiving process done right is the first key step to maintaining an accurate inventory within a warehouse or order fulfillment facility. Visiting logistics social media and networking sites focused on the supply chain (such as http://www.cha1n.com/, http://www.blogsinlogistics.com/, and http://www.logipi.com/) is a good way to learn about best practices for receiving.
Showing posts with label bill of lading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bill of lading. Show all posts
Monday, April 4, 2011
Monday, September 20, 2010
What is the purpose of a Bill of Lading?
A Bill of Lading is a document issued by a consignor (or shipper, such as an order fulfillment center) and signed by a carrier at the time of pick up, acknowledging that specified products have been received on board as cargo for delivery to a named consignee, or destination. It serves as a contract between the shipper and/ or owners of the goods and the carrier for a number of purposes:
• It is evidence of a valid contract of carriage, and may incorporate the complete terms of the contract between the shipper (such as a startup ecommerce order fulfillment servce) and the carrier which may include payment terms, rates, description of product classification, as well as other duties and obligations.
• It is a receipt signed by the carrier confirming whether goods matching the contract description have been received in good condition (see SLC below). The information could include pallet and/ or piece count, weight, product description and classification.
• Once signed by the consignee, it is a receipt of goods received providing final confirmation of the quantity and condition of the product received. A signature by the consignee is acknowledgement the goods are received as described on the BOL unless discrepancies are otherwise noted at the time the BOL is signed.
• The signed BOL may also often serve as a Proof of Delivery (POD) document as well as back up for the Freight Invoice.
The Bill of Lading will typically at minimum contain the following information: Shipper’s Name and Address, Consignee’s Name and Address, Description of Goods including pieces and weight, NMFC Classification, Bill to Party (or Payment Terms), relevant load ID numbers, and Carrier’s Name.
As a matter of process, the driver from the carrier will sign the BOL at the time of pick up when the goods are loaded onto the carrier’s equipment. At this point the carrier is responsible for inspecting the goods to ensure the quantity and condition of the product is as noted on the BOL. Depending on the shipper’s rules, the BOL can be signed “Shipper Load and Count”, or “SLC”, which means the carrier has not been given the opportunity to inspect the goods prior to loading when it is not practical or permissible. A copy of the signed BOL will often be kept be the consignor.
The original copy of the BOL will physically accompany the shipment from pick up through delivery.
Upon delivery of the shipment to the consignee, the receiving location will inspect the product as it is unloaded – prior to signing the BOL acknowledging receipt. Any damages or shortages will be noted by the consignee on the BOL at that time. Generally speaking, if a consignee notices damages at a later time and nothing was noted on the BOL at the time of delivery the shipper and carrier will not be held accountable for the issues. An executed, final signed copy of the BOL will be retained by the consignee as a receipt of the shipment delivered. The carrier will retain a final copy of the Bill of Lading as well.
Visit http://www.eroutinguide.com/ for a complimentary Bill of Lading generator tool.
_______________________
Ken Kowal is Director of New Business Development for order fulfillment service company Landis Logistics.
• It is evidence of a valid contract of carriage, and may incorporate the complete terms of the contract between the shipper (such as a startup ecommerce order fulfillment servce) and the carrier which may include payment terms, rates, description of product classification, as well as other duties and obligations.
• It is a receipt signed by the carrier confirming whether goods matching the contract description have been received in good condition (see SLC below). The information could include pallet and/ or piece count, weight, product description and classification.
• Once signed by the consignee, it is a receipt of goods received providing final confirmation of the quantity and condition of the product received. A signature by the consignee is acknowledgement the goods are received as described on the BOL unless discrepancies are otherwise noted at the time the BOL is signed.
• The signed BOL may also often serve as a Proof of Delivery (POD) document as well as back up for the Freight Invoice.
The Bill of Lading will typically at minimum contain the following information: Shipper’s Name and Address, Consignee’s Name and Address, Description of Goods including pieces and weight, NMFC Classification, Bill to Party (or Payment Terms), relevant load ID numbers, and Carrier’s Name.
As a matter of process, the driver from the carrier will sign the BOL at the time of pick up when the goods are loaded onto the carrier’s equipment. At this point the carrier is responsible for inspecting the goods to ensure the quantity and condition of the product is as noted on the BOL. Depending on the shipper’s rules, the BOL can be signed “Shipper Load and Count”, or “SLC”, which means the carrier has not been given the opportunity to inspect the goods prior to loading when it is not practical or permissible. A copy of the signed BOL will often be kept be the consignor.
The original copy of the BOL will physically accompany the shipment from pick up through delivery.
Upon delivery of the shipment to the consignee, the receiving location will inspect the product as it is unloaded – prior to signing the BOL acknowledging receipt. Any damages or shortages will be noted by the consignee on the BOL at that time. Generally speaking, if a consignee notices damages at a later time and nothing was noted on the BOL at the time of delivery the shipper and carrier will not be held accountable for the issues. An executed, final signed copy of the BOL will be retained by the consignee as a receipt of the shipment delivered. The carrier will retain a final copy of the Bill of Lading as well.
Visit http://www.eroutinguide.com/ for a complimentary Bill of Lading generator tool.
_______________________
Ken Kowal is Director of New Business Development for order fulfillment service company Landis Logistics.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
6 Reasons why a Routing Guide is crucial for effective Transportation Management
What is a Routing Guide?
A Routing Guide is a document whose purpose is to outline the rules that govern how a company’s shipments should be handled. This could include any shipment ranging from small package, airfreight, import/export, to full truckloads of product. The goal is provide a document with straight forward instructions detailing what carrier and account numbers are to be used for any given shipment when the cost will be paid for by that company.
To illustrate, a Routing Guide would specify the correct way to send a shipment in the following sample situations:
• What company to use for sending office correspondence (Fed Ex or UPS?) and what account number to use: the best answer may be different depending on service required such as over-night or ground.
• The correct Less-than- Truckload carrier to use when a buyer has purchased product from a supplier and the order needs to be delivered to one of your locations: LTL tariffs are complicated and certain carries may be cheaper depending on the origin and destination for a given shipment.
Any time a shipment is being routed on behalf of your company, and the cost is hitting your bottom line, it is important to make sure the correct routing decision gets made. A good Routing Guide ensures that happens.
What happens without an effective Routing Guide?
Having a clear, concise Routing Guide is of particular importance when a company is decentralized geographically, has multiple locations, or a large supplier/ vendor base.
When the correct routing is not followed several negative things can happen.
• Product is routed with the wrong carrier resulting in potentially bad service and higher cost
• Product arrives at the wrong location
• Packaging may be incorrect or sub-standard
• Bill of Lading, filled out incorrectly or shipments will have incomplete documentation , interrupting the receiving process at your facility
• Freight Invoices are incorrectly rated or sent to the wrong address for payment, delaying payment
• Shipping volume will not be recognized when volume discounts are part of a contract
As part of a Routing Guide, specific packaging and paperwork requirements you need suppliers and vendors to be mindful of can be spelled out. For instance – do you need pallets to be stacked less than a certain height to fit in your facility’s racks? Do you require an Advanced Shipping Notification or Purchase Order number noted on the Bill of Lading for the product to be received properly? There are many low cost and free Transportation Software solutions offering tools for helping to create and distribute your Routing Guide.
Routing Guides are intended to be dynamic documents. Make sure you have a process to update and distribute the Routing Guide to your entire vendor base and across internal departments as updates are made. If the updates are not disseminated effectively then the instructions will become quickly outdated and miss-routed and/ or miss-rated shipments will occur.
Not having an up to date Routing Guide creates extra cost and hassles for a company, so make sure your Routing Guide document is current and widely distributed.
A Routing Guide is a document whose purpose is to outline the rules that govern how a company’s shipments should be handled. This could include any shipment ranging from small package, airfreight, import/export, to full truckloads of product. The goal is provide a document with straight forward instructions detailing what carrier and account numbers are to be used for any given shipment when the cost will be paid for by that company.
To illustrate, a Routing Guide would specify the correct way to send a shipment in the following sample situations:
• What company to use for sending office correspondence (Fed Ex or UPS?) and what account number to use: the best answer may be different depending on service required such as over-night or ground.
• The correct Less-than- Truckload carrier to use when a buyer has purchased product from a supplier and the order needs to be delivered to one of your locations: LTL tariffs are complicated and certain carries may be cheaper depending on the origin and destination for a given shipment.
Any time a shipment is being routed on behalf of your company, and the cost is hitting your bottom line, it is important to make sure the correct routing decision gets made. A good Routing Guide ensures that happens.
What happens without an effective Routing Guide?
Having a clear, concise Routing Guide is of particular importance when a company is decentralized geographically, has multiple locations, or a large supplier/ vendor base.
When the correct routing is not followed several negative things can happen.
• Product is routed with the wrong carrier resulting in potentially bad service and higher cost
• Product arrives at the wrong location
• Packaging may be incorrect or sub-standard
• Bill of Lading, filled out incorrectly or shipments will have incomplete documentation , interrupting the receiving process at your facility
• Freight Invoices are incorrectly rated or sent to the wrong address for payment, delaying payment
• Shipping volume will not be recognized when volume discounts are part of a contract
As part of a Routing Guide, specific packaging and paperwork requirements you need suppliers and vendors to be mindful of can be spelled out. For instance – do you need pallets to be stacked less than a certain height to fit in your facility’s racks? Do you require an Advanced Shipping Notification or Purchase Order number noted on the Bill of Lading for the product to be received properly? There are many low cost and free Transportation Software solutions offering tools for helping to create and distribute your Routing Guide.
Routing Guides are intended to be dynamic documents. Make sure you have a process to update and distribute the Routing Guide to your entire vendor base and across internal departments as updates are made. If the updates are not disseminated effectively then the instructions will become quickly outdated and miss-routed and/ or miss-rated shipments will occur.
Not having an up to date Routing Guide creates extra cost and hassles for a company, so make sure your Routing Guide document is current and widely distributed.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Transportation Management Software - Beta Testers Needed! (part #2)
Not one to let good content go to waste - the following is a portion of the instructions we are working on for the Routing Guide functionality.
Feedback is always appreciated.
We are looking for companies to beta test the new parts of our new transportation management software so get in touch if you are interested.
Thanks.
eRoutingGuide is built to allow flexibility with how you create your company’s Routing Guide. You are able to include as much information as you feel is necessary, and in any format. Remember, the idea is to firmly set the ground rules up front for all vendors, suppliers or anyone shipping product on your company’s behalf – so include any information you feel is important. Think how easy it will be to get your up to date Routing Guide into the people’s hands that need it. You’ll save time, energy and cost when your freight is routed right the first time.
eRoutingGuide allows you to upload an existing .pdf file to your personalized Routing Guide website that can be accessed by whomever you choose. There is also a large free-form area to add text with additional information for users to be aware of. Click Here for an example of a completed profile.
You’ll want to include basic information such as key logistics contacts with Names, Phone Numbers, Company Locations, etc.
Most importantly, make sure you spell out the specific routing instructions for any supplier, vendor or person within your own company shipping to you, or on your company’s behalf. Below are a few ideas to get you started or click here to see a sample eRouting Guide.
- Who are your preferred carriers? As an example, if there is a supplier routing an LTL shipment moving from Georgia to a location in New Jersey – the supplier needs to know the best carrier to use is X, and it needs to be billed to your correct account number which is XXXX.
- Do you have a national account with Fed Ex or UPS? People within your company need to know what account numbers to use to make sure the correct discount is applied.
- Do you utilize a 3rd Party Logistics company to handle all your truckload routing – make sure their contact information is easily accessible.
- Are appointments required at your facilities? Who do they contact for an appointment?
- Do you require an Advanced Shipping Notification (ASN) number? Make sure vendors and suppliers know that is a requirement and the procedures to follow.
All these points should help give you the idea. Once updated, eRoutingGuide allows you to easily send companies a link to your personalized webpage.
Click Here for an example of a completed profile. We welcome your questions and feedback: questions@eroutingguide.com
Thank you for choosing eRoutingGuide. Supply Chain Software made easy.
http://knol.google.com/k/anonymous/transportation-management-software-what/4ilw4vkwik1x/1#
Feedback is always appreciated.
We are looking for companies to beta test the new parts of our new transportation management software so get in touch if you are interested.
Thanks.
eRoutingGuide is built to allow flexibility with how you create your company’s Routing Guide. You are able to include as much information as you feel is necessary, and in any format. Remember, the idea is to firmly set the ground rules up front for all vendors, suppliers or anyone shipping product on your company’s behalf – so include any information you feel is important. Think how easy it will be to get your up to date Routing Guide into the people’s hands that need it. You’ll save time, energy and cost when your freight is routed right the first time.
eRoutingGuide allows you to upload an existing .pdf file to your personalized Routing Guide website that can be accessed by whomever you choose. There is also a large free-form area to add text with additional information for users to be aware of. Click Here for an example of a completed profile.
You’ll want to include basic information such as key logistics contacts with Names, Phone Numbers, Company Locations, etc.
Most importantly, make sure you spell out the specific routing instructions for any supplier, vendor or person within your own company shipping to you, or on your company’s behalf. Below are a few ideas to get you started or click here to see a sample eRouting Guide.
- Who are your preferred carriers? As an example, if there is a supplier routing an LTL shipment moving from Georgia to a location in New Jersey – the supplier needs to know the best carrier to use is X, and it needs to be billed to your correct account number which is XXXX.
- Do you have a national account with Fed Ex or UPS? People within your company need to know what account numbers to use to make sure the correct discount is applied.
- Do you utilize a 3rd Party Logistics company to handle all your truckload routing – make sure their contact information is easily accessible.
- Are appointments required at your facilities? Who do they contact for an appointment?
- Do you require an Advanced Shipping Notification (ASN) number? Make sure vendors and suppliers know that is a requirement and the procedures to follow.
All these points should help give you the idea. Once updated, eRoutingGuide allows you to easily send companies a link to your personalized webpage.
Click Here for an example of a completed profile. We welcome your questions and feedback: questions@eroutingguide.com
Thank you for choosing eRoutingGuide. Supply Chain Software made easy.
http://knol.google.com/k/anonymous/transportation-management-software-what/4ilw4vkwik1x/1#
Monday, August 23, 2010
Transportation Management Software - Part # 1 for ShipAssist - Beta Testers Needed
Not one to let good content go to waste - the following is a portion of the instructions we are working on for the ShipAssist functionality. Routing Guide to follow in part #2.
Feedback is always appreciated.
We are looking for companies to beta test the new parts of our new transportation management software so get in touch if you are interested.
Thanks.
ShipAssist is built to allow flexibility with how your facility’s Shipping Dock information is displayed on your personalized ShipAssist website. You are able to include as much information as you feel is necessary, and in any format. Remember, the idea is to firmly set the ground rules up front for any trucking company coming into your shipping dock – so include any and all information you feel is important. Think of the phone calls and hassles you can avoid by the carriers getting this information in advance!
Click Here for an example of a completed profile.
Here are some recommendations:
You’ll want to include basic information such as Phone, Address, Directions, and Hours.
Most importantly, make sure you include the specific Rules and Regulations at your shipping dock. Here are a few ideas to get you started or click here for an example.
- Are appointments required? Who do they contact for an appointment?
- Upon arrival, drivers must Auto- Check In by texting their load number to xxx-xxxx (*if your facility has eRoutingGuide Auto-Check-In service)
- Is a lumper service required? What is the rate?
- Is a lift-gate required?
- How many hours of wait time should a driver expect before you will approve detention?
- Will a delivery be refused without an Advanced Shipping Notification number?
- Is a pick up or some type of load number required?
- Are drivers allowed on the dock? Are you a shipper load and count (SLC) facility?
- How are OS&D issues handled?
Those points should give you the idea. Once updated, ShipAssist allows you to easily send companies a link to your personalized webpage and require that all carriers and vendors confirm their understanding of the rules and regulations on your ShipAssist website. Your Shipping Department will thank you.
Click Here for an example of a completed profile.
We welcome your questions and feedback: questions@eroutingguide.com
Thank you for choosing ShipAssist. Transportation Management Software can be simple!
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