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CH Robinson Launches LTL Electronic Bill of Lading

[ February 2, 2024   //   ]

Third-party logistics provider C.H. Robinson said it has advanced the digitization of the less-than-truckload industry by implementing an electronic bill of lading with 10 of the top LTL carriers and is in progress with four more.
Standards for electronic bill of ladings (eBOLs) were developed by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association’s Digital LTL Council to create greater efficiency and real-time visibility for LTL shippers.
In the past year, C.H. Robinson said 17,240 customers have benefited from the eBOL and more are expected as C.H. Robinson helps additional LTL carriers come on board.
The LTL market has been consolidating to the point that the top 25 handle 90 percent of the market, “the complexity of moving LTL freight means that digitalization in this part of the logistics industry has been more challenged than truckload,” said Greg West, C.H. Robinson’s vice president for LTL.
While truckload freight deals with one origin and one destination and one customer has exclusive use of the trailer, “with LTL you can have up to 30 customers’ freight on one trailer with 30 destinations and 30 sets of paperwork. That makes it so valuable to have a common eBOL everyone can use,” West explained.
For decades, LTL required a carrier to generate a tracking number for each shipper’s freight and print out stickers with those numbers. The driver would take the stickers to a shipper’s loading dock and affix them to a paper bill of lading and to each talent – then do it again for the next pickup. When the LTL driver returns to the terminal, the BOL tracking numbers would be manually entered into the carrier’s computer system and sent to the logistics provider overnight or next-day. Only then would shippers have any visibility into their freight, which is already in transit.
With the eBOL, a tracking number can be generated within seconds of the shipment being tendered to the carrier via application program interface, or API, and a complete bill of lading is ready for the shipper, and the driver merely scans upon arrival.
Eliminating manual work lowers administrative costs, reduces errors and raises efficiency at the shipper’s dock. By knowing the tracking number in advance, shippers gain true real-time visibility, including updates via C.H. Robinson’s Navisphere platform when freight is picked up.
Tracking updates allow for detection and avoidance of disruptions along the route, and enhances predictive estimated times of arrival for shippers.
C.H. Robinson employs a sophisticated data-science model fed by information on more than 5 million LTL shipments a year across 3 million shipping lanes—more than any other 3PL. C.H. Robinson said it has reached 92 percent accuracy in predicting that an LTL shipment will arrive on time.
“C.H. Robinson’s adoption of the electronic bill of lading (eBOL) stands as a landmark achievement in the digitization of the industry,” said Paul Dugent, Executive Director of NMFTA’s Digital LTL Council. “Their pioneering collaboration with leading LTL carriers and embrace of the Council’s standards showcase a firm commitment to modernizing logistics for enhanced efficiency and real-time visibility. This visionary approach will undoubtedly serve as a catalyst for broader industry adoption, ultimately benefiting both shippers and carriers alike.”
C.H. Robinson and NMFTA discussed the benefits of the new eBOL at the recent SMC3 annual JumpStart conference. For more information, C.H. Robinson offers a case study (https://nmfta.org/wp-content/media/2024/01/CH-Robinson-Case-Study-011824.pdf) and an eBOL guide (https://www.chrobinson.com/en-us/newsroom/chrglobal/shippers/freight-services/ltl/ebol/), while NMFTA offers resources on eBOL (https://nmfta.org/digital-standards-development/).

Ten of the top LTL carriers have implemented C.H. Robinson’s an electronic bill of lading with 10 of the top LTL carriers PHOTO: C.H. Robinson

Greg West, vice president for LTL, C.H. Robinson

Paul Dugent, executive director, NMFTA

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