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C.H. Robinson says eBOL collaboration now includes 10 major LTL carriers

More than 17,000 of 3PL’s customers used the digital shipping document last year

The less-than-truckload industry continues to adopt the usage of electronic bills of lading. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Third-party logistics provider C.H. Robinson announced Monday it uses electronic bills of lading with 10 of the top less-than-truckload carriers on its platform. It said it plans to implement the capabilities with an additional four carriers.

The digitization of the essential shipping document improves efficiency, minimizes errors and provides increased real-time visibility. C.H. Robinson (NASDAQ: CHRW) said 17,240 of its customers used the eBOL process last year, with even broader adoption expected in 2024.

“With truckload freight, there’s generally one origin and one destination and a customer has exclusive use of the trailer,” Greg West, vice president of LTL at C.H. Robinson, said in a news release. “With LTL, you can have up to 30 customers’ freight on a trailer, with 30 destinations and 30 sets of paperwork. That makes it so valuable to have a common eBOL everyone can use.”

The automated process allows for tracking numbers to be generated via API within seconds of a shipment’s tender. The driver only has to scan it upon arrival. The manual process required drivers to carry and apply stickers to paper bills of lading and to each pallet. At the end of the day, the driver had to manually enter all the tracking numbers in the carrier’s system before tracking could begin.


C.H. Robinson said it has an accuracy rating of 92% when it comes to predicting which LTL shipments will arrive on time.

The company said it is the first 3PL to adopt the eBOL process. The standards for their use were developed by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association’s (NMFTA) Digital LTL Council. The NMFTA is a trade group that manages the classification system used to universally code and identify each shipment in the LTL industry.

“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,” said Paul Dugent, executive director of the NMFTA’s Digital LTL Council.

He expects C.H. Robinson’s eBOL initiative “to serve as a catalyst for broader industry adoption.”


4 Comments

  1. Dispatchers and drivers are proof that humanity is doomed

    Carolyn, your comments and the generic uninformed responses from others just like you on every single FW article reinforce why it is that you are struggling financially…nevermind that your comment is not at all applicable to the subject matter of the article. You willfully and ignorantly fail to grasp the reality of the freight market to your continual detriment. Do yourself a favor and go back to the fast-food drive-thru job you had before COVID hit. The time has well passed where you should be working in a job that exceeds your minimal employment qualifications. Your ignorance in this area is not bliss, but a prison of your own creation. The world does not benefit from you hopping on a soap box to squawk about loads needing to be $4.00 a mile minimum out of one side of your mouth while you undoubtedly cluck out of the other side of your mouth about inflation and the cost of living being too high. Your cognitive dissonance is simultaneously astonishing and unsurprising. Do the world a favor and go back to asking people if they’d like their burger as an entrée or in a meal.

  2. Carolyn Watson

    The rates are pathetic, there is NO improvements that any company can make if they are paying such crap for owner operators and you KNOW the brokers saying “we dont have that much in the load” is a lie…seriously, the company paying for the freight is only paying 1.30 a mile for their freight to be trucked – really – hiw bout a new system, flat rate $ 4.00 a mile, if the load is heavier a percentage more, id the driver has to wait $100 an hour – why should truckers pay to ship these while companies dont foot the expense?

  3. Carolyn Watson

    How about getting the rates up for owner operators? There should not be a single load on any loadboard for under $4.00 a mile – the money these companies pay are to help us pay for new tires, maintenance and fuel – oh and to pay the owner and driver for their time and expertise….Abel Truck LLC. I KNOW NOBODY CARES, ESPECIALLY C H RONINSON WHO PAYS 1.49 A MILE FOR 45,000 POUNDS GOING 350 MILES.

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Todd Maiden

Based in Richmond, VA, Todd is the finance editor at FreightWaves. Prior to joining FreightWaves, he covered the TLs, LTLs, railroads and brokers for RBC Capital Markets and BB&T Capital Markets. Todd began his career in banking and finance before moving over to transportation equity research where he provided stock recommendations for publicly traded transportation companies.