TransportGistics, Bohemia, N.Y., has launched what it calls an electronic bill of lading, BLGen.

Once data on a shipment is entered into the system, users can instantly create packing slips, convert them to Bills of Lading, print carton labels, and have all of the information available to generate reports or create Advanced Shipment Notifications (ASN); the entire transaction takes place on-line.
BLGen makes the details of shipments visible to all authorized parties, so shippers can review and edit any requirement that make the shipment unique. BLGen also stores frequently used addresses and commodities in a central database. If changes require shipments to be re-rated, new information is presented immediately for confirmation, updated shipping labels can be printed, and all shipping documents including Bills of Lading can be sent or filed through the Internet.
"With BLGen, shippers can build their transportation plans from the creation of raw orders to the full visibility of all of their shipments through final delivery, final settlement, and payment," says Alan Miller, president of TransportGistics. "We designed this tool as an incremental mechanism to reduce the mountain of paperwork that characterizes today's transportation and distribution processes. It eliminates errors and dramatically compresses the timeframe for gaining critical information necessary for decision-making."