Automate bill of lading processing across every major carrier

Pull each draft BL from its carrier-specific review channel as soon as it appears (Maersk.com, myMSC, My CMA CGM document dashboard, Hapag-Lloyd BLDA tool, ONE eCommerce, SynCon Hub or COP, ShipmentLink proofreading). Only Maersk publishes a draft BL turnaround target (2-hour Verify Copy); the other six carriers do not. Run a field-level diff against the SI and booking confirmation for parties, addresses, ports, container and seal numbers, weights, cargo description, HS code, document type, and freight terms. For LC shipments, additionally cross-check goods description character-for-character against LC terms. Surface field-level discrepancies to the reviewer with source-of-truth data pre-populated.

Default to eBL where the consignee's bank and the destination country accept it, routing each carrier to its actual platform: WAVE BL or iQAX for Hapag-Lloyd; WAVE BL or essDOCS/CargoDocs for ONE; GSBN for COSCO; Bolero (i-B/L via ShipmentLink and GreenX) for Evergreen. Do NOT route Evergreen eBLs via GSBN: Evergreen is not a GSBN shareholder despite Ocean Alliance co-membership, and the gsbn.trade roster excludes Evergreen. Where the carrier does not name a primary eBL platform on its source page (Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM), route the eBL flow through the carrier's portal directly and surface the platform decision to the reviewer.

Route every amendment through the digital channel by default to avoid manual amendment fees: Maersk $75 Manual Documentation Amendment Fee, MSC $100 Manual BL Fee, Hapag-Lloyd EUR 80/booking Spain manual fee. Pre-calculate the per-country, per-stage fee from each carrier's published tariff (Hapag-Lloyd USA USD 70 pre-sailing rising to USD 130 post-departure; Germany EUR 100/document post-closing; CMA CGM Germany first amendment free then EUR 50/BL pre-closure and EUR 125/BL post-closure plus potential customs fines; COSCO USD 100 USA/Far East/China/Australia, USD 140 Europe/ENS, INR 5,000 India; ONE INR 2,600/BL India plus customs penalty plus GST). Surface the cost to the reviewer before submission. Where the fee is not in public sources (most Evergreen origins, several COSCO regions), flag 'country fee unconfirmed, reviewer to confirm' rather than guessing.

Generate Letters of Indemnity to each carrier's standard wording. Filter destinations where the release type is prohibited at booking time, NOT at the telex stage: Costa Rican customs prohibits Telex Release, eBL, and Sea Waybill on MSC, so agents enforce Original BL selection at booking and prepare the 200% commercial value plus freight LOI structure for any post-issuance change. For Maersk Electronic Cargo Release, verify the five eligibility conditions (negotiable Maersk-issued BL, not surrendered, requester is SI submitter, web-print agreement in place, destination country permits, with Colombia explicitly restricted) before submission. Surface the per-carrier telex fee where published: MSC $75/BL US, Hapag-Lloyd USD 100/BL USA (BSF) or EUR 40/BL Germany/Spain or EUR 75/BL Italy, ONE Manual Release USD 50/BL plus USD 50 courier USA, COSCO BRL 430/BL Brazil only confirmed.

Detect Switch BL intent at booking or SI stage where possible and block OBL release until the workflow is confirmed. Route through the carrier-specific channel: Maersk North America requires us.customerexperience@maersk.com (since October 2025) to avoid the $125 admin fee on top of $175 Switch Bill ($300 total via portal); Hapag-Lloyd USA USD 150/container EBL line item (50% higher than telex release at USD 100/BL); MSC standard re-issuance with no Maersk-equivalent penalty structure; ONE prohibits Switch BL on US-bound cargo (Hong Kong guideline) and requires the carrier to have an office in the switch BL issuance country with the full OBL set cancelled first; COSCO Dubai USD 150/BL cross-port confirmed (other origins not in public sources); Evergreen industry-average fees at Dubai and Singapore, country-specific elsewhere behind ShipmentLink login.

When original BLs have been released and an amendment is required, agents coordinate full-set OBL return with the origin office, prepare LOI templates populated with shipper and consignee details from the TMS, and submit once both guarantees are signed. For Costa Rica MSC, the LOI must be guaranteed to 200% of commercial value plus ocean freight via a bank or MSC's insurance company; a standard LOI template does not satisfy this requirement. For Maersk post-issuance amendments, the full set of original BLs (1/3, 2/3, 3/3) plus signed Letters of Guarantee from both shipper and consignee are required (Sea Waybill: LoG only).

Recommend BL type (Original BL, Sea Waybill, Telex Release, eBL) based on shipment context: consignee relationship, letter-of-credit status, destination country acceptance, banking counterparty requirements. Flag carriers where the BL type choice is irreversible or expensive to reverse: MSC's US T&Cs lock the Original/SWB/eBL choice at booking with no amendment path (cancel-and-rebook is the only resolution); CMA CGM allows BL type conversion after issuance only via re-issuance with OBL surrender, adding days to the documentation cycle and incurring additional charges. Surface the lock or conversion cost to the reviewer at booking time, not at draft BL stage.