Transportation was first recognized as the "third source of profit," where the third source of profit refers to the profit sources of a company. The first source of profit comes from the increase in sales revenue, and the second source is the reduction in production costs (for manufacturers) or procurement costs (for distributors). The profit derived from cost reduction then becomes the third source of profit for the company. [1] Here, transportation is defined as the distribution and allocation of goods, including a series of processes such as loading, unloading, transportation, warehousing, and handling for manufacturers and distributors. The emphasis on freight is elevated to a level of cost reduction and profit increase, marking the first turning point in the definition of freight. Freight companies typically operate primarily with sea, land, and air transportation modes.

Freight Documents

To ensure the safe handover of import and export goods, various documents must be prepared throughout the transportation process. Each document serves a specific purpose and is interdependent with the others. They link together the ship, port, and cargo parties, while also clarifying each party's rights and business.

Introduce some major shipping documents according to the actual business procedures.

Booking Note

The bill of lading, commonly referred to as the "loading paper," is a document filled out by the shipper based on the terms of the trade contract and the credit letter. It is used to arrange for the shipment of goods with the carrier or their agent. After considering the content of the bill of lading, along with the ship's route, ports of call, sailing schedule, and available space, the carrier deems it suitable and accepts the shipment.

Shipment Order

The bill of lading is a document issued by the shipping company upon accepting the shipper's application for shipment, which authorizes the captain to load the cargo. It serves as the basis for loading the cargo and is one of the key documents that the shipper uses to file export declarations with customs. Therefore, it is also referred to as the "customs document." For the shipper, the bill of lading is proof that the shipment is properly arranged. For the shipping company or its agent, the bill of lading is the instruction document notifying the ship to accept the shipment of this cargo.

Mate's Receipt

The Mate's Receipt, also known as the receipt for cargo received, serves as proof that the cargo has been received by the ship and loaded on board. The chief officer on the vessel signs the Mate's Receipt after verifying the date, quantity, and hold location noted by the tally clerk on the tally sheet, and cross-referencing it with the bill of lading. The shipper exchanges the signed Mate's Receipt for a seaway bill with the carrier or their agent.

Due to the main items in the aforementioned three documents being essentially the same, some major ports in our country have adopted a practice of combining the bill of lading, loading order, receipt of goods, and freight notification into one document consisting of up to 9 copies. The functions of each copy are as follows: The first copy is kept by the booking party for the preparation of shipping documents. The second and third copies serve as the freight notification copies, with one copy retained and the other sent along with the invoice to collect freight from the shipper. The fourth copy, the loading order, must be stamped with the customs release seal before the ship can receive and load the cargo. The fifth copy, the receipt of goods, and the sixth copy are kept by the stowage person. The seventh and eighth copies are the stowage return copies. The ninth copy is the application for payment of port charges for export goods. After the cargo is loaded onto the ship, the port uses this to collect the port handling fees from the shipper.