BOL's, Weekend Pick-ups, and Trade Shows

We are back today to talk about some more freight shipping tips that will help your next shipment go more smoothly. We are in the business of saving our customers money, so the more our customers know, the more they save.

BOL's (Bill of Lading)

A common problem that often happens when shipping with a freight broker is that the customer does not give the driver the BOL that is issued by the freight broker. Although the BOL contains all of the information on the shipment, (such as the ship-to address, ship-from address, and description of items being shipped) it also tells the carrier who they should bill for the shipment. If you are shipping through a freight broker, you want to make sure that the freight broker is charged by the carrier so you (the customer) are not charged twice. The only way you can ensure this occurs is to hand the truck driver the BOL that the freight broker (Shipping & Freight) issues to you. When this procedure is followed, you will not be charged by the freight carrier.

Weekend Pickups

We get many questions about the possibility of weekend pickups from our customers. In general, freight carriers do not have regular freight services on the weekends. We normally recommend that our customers try to plan ahead and set up their pickup on a weekday. If that is not possible, our carriers do provide expedited services that will pickup on a weekend, but it is normally much more expensive.

Trade Shows

At Shipping & Freight, we set up many shipments for Trade Shows. Having the following information normally makes the process for setting the shipment up much quicker.

- The Trade Show's preferred carrier
- The delivery deadline
- Specified delivery & pickup times
- Booth #

Many Trade Shows are on the weekend, so make sure to know if your items need to be shipped that weekend or if they can be shipped prior to the weekend. The answer could potentially save you hundreds of dollars!

If you need any help with any of the following topics, do not hesitate to call us at 727-230-9048 or toll free at 877-618-6058.