Third-party logistics provider C.H. Robinson is spearheading the transportation industry’s adoption of electronic bills of lading (eBOLs). The company now uses the digital shipping documents with 10 of the largest less-truckload (LTL) carriers on its platform, with plans to roll it out to 4 more carriers.
Growing Adoption
Last year, over 17,000 of C.H. Robinson’s customers utilized eBOLs, a number expected to expand in 2024. The digital documents improve efficiency, minimize errors, and enable real-time tracking – valuable for LTL shipments involving multiple customers. According to Greg West, C.H. Robinson’s VP of LTL, automating this traditionally manual, paper-based process is hugely impactful for an industry hauling freight from up to 30 customers on one trailer.
Benefits of Digitization
The eBOL process allows tracking numbers to be generated instantly when a shipment is scheduled, viewable as soon as the driver scans it on arrival. This replaces drivers manually managing paper forms and stickers for each pallet and inputting tracking data after their shift. C.H. Robinson cites a 92% accuracy score in predicting on-time LTL deliveries with this improved tracking.
Industry-Wide Shift
As the first 3PL using eBOLs standardized by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, C.H. Robinson aims to encourage broader LTL industry adoption according to NMFTA’s Paul Dugent. Their collaboration with top carriers exhibits their “firm commitment to modernizing logistics” – a pioneering change Dugent expects to catalyze more modernization ahead.
By leveraging their expertise and resources, Lading Logistics aims to provide efficient and reliable international shipping and logistics solutions for their clients.
