ocean freight commercial invoice template

A shipment cannot be sent without this document. The B/L which is the most important piece of document in the ocean freight shipping industry comes with a list of all parties involved in the shipping process along with information such as name and addresses of the consignee and the shipper, purchase order, shipment pickup date, cargo description and weight, packing details, details of the forwarders and special instructions. You will get an air waybill, sea waybill or rail waybill depending on your mode of transportation.

It includes all the details of the cargo such as volume, destination, and commodity type. It works as a contract and a document of title between the carrier and the shipping company or freight forwarder. The Bill of Lading aka BoL or B/L is the most important shipping document that serves as a receipt of freight forwarding services. Generally, a commercial invoice includes the following kinds of data- number of items, country of origin, item description, terms of sale, export reason, consignee name, and shipper name. They are like regular invoices but they also come with data about the financial institution, freight forwarder, shipping line, exporter and importer. This document acts as a proof of sale between the exporter and the importer. The seller or exporter issues this legal document to the buyer or the importer in an international transaction. The commercial invoice is one of the primary documents in international sea freight shipping. Most important paperwork in the ocean freight shipping industry Commercial invoice

Today we are going to talk about some of the most important freight documents that forwarders encounter while moving a shipment. Nevertheless, all individual documents play a unique role which is why it is crucial to ensure that the information written on each piece of paperwork is precise and consistent across every other document. Typically, most documents in the transportation and logistics sector come with similar information relating to the shipment details, buyer, and seller. The slightest error in your shipping documents can lead to delays and even cancellation of shipment thereby disrupting the entire supply chain. As an independent freight forwarder, you need to get familiar with all of them which can be a task in itself. The ocean freight shipping industry is infamous for the tremendous amount of paperwork it entails.

Ocean freight commercial invoice template