Bill of lading OCR & data capturing

Enhance the effectiveness of your organization with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and data extraction. Process bills of lading safely and quickly with Klippa. Powered by machine learning.

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What we can do with bills of lading

Our machine learning technology can automate many bill of lading-related business processes via our APIs and SDKs.
Bill of lading scanning
Format conversion and scan quality improvement
Image to text and JSON with OCR
Data extraction on bills of lading
Classification of bills of lading
(Cross) validating data
Regulatory compliance checks
Optimisation of workflows

Bill of lading data extraction

An image speaks more than a thousand words. Below is an example of the three steps our OCR engine takes to automatically extract data from bills of lading.

Uploading bills of lading to the API

The first step is providing a picture or a PDF file of a bill of lading to our API. This is typically done via our mobile app or web application.

The document can be sent cropped or uncropped (with background). If the scan is sent uncropped, the Klippa API will automatically crop the document. The Klippa bill of lading scanning SDK can also be used in mobile apps. 

Image to text using OCR

As soon as a picture or PDF is received, it is converted to a TXT file by our engine. In this step all the text from the document is extracted, but not yet structured.

Getting JSON output from the API

The Klippa Parser takes the TXT gained from the OCR in step 2 and converts it into structured JSON using machine learning. The JSON is then returned as output from the API.

From here the bill of lading can easily be processed into your database. Whether you are processing bills of lading for transportation, international shipping or compliance checks, Klippa is here to help.
Reduce cost
Spend less on processing bills of lading by using Klippa.
Improve speed
Process bills of lading automatically within seconds. Perfect for the logistics sector.
Reduce errors
Prevent manual data entry errors with high quality data extraction on bills of lading.
Prevent fraud
Automatically recognize errors, duplicates and fraud.
What bill of lading fields are extracted?
In general, all data fields from a bill of lading can be extracted. To give you an idea, we listed some examples below. The extracted data fields can be customized for each customer. Additional fields can be extracted on request.
Bill of lading number
Carrier name
Trailer number
Serial numbers
Name and address of the receiver
Name and address of the shipper
Invoice numbers
Pickup date
Number of products
Weight and dimension of the products
Packaging details
Any notes or instructions for the carrier
And many more fields
Find duplicates via image hashing
Identify fraudulent documents via crosschecks
Let's talk over the phone!
We love to explain more about Klippa via a short phone call. If you want us to call you back, just pick a date and time that suits you best.
Klippa - Call Me Back - EN
We are available for calls in English, Spanish, French, German and Dutch during office hours (CEST time zone). You can reach us at +44 330 828 0642.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does bill of lading OCR cost?
The pricing structure for Klippa bill of lading capturing depends on the amount of fields and the document volume. Both pay per use and monthly licenses are available. Get in contact with our product specialists to get an exact quote.
What types of bills of lading are supported?
There are many different types of bills of lading in the world. In general, we support all these types and forms. The list below shows some examples, but is not exhaustive:

– Straight bill of lading
– Open bill of lading
– Bearer bill of lading
– Order bill of lading
– Received for shipment bill of lading
– Shipped B/L
– A clean bill of lading
– Through B/L
– Combined transport B/L
– Dirty bill of lading

In case you wonder if we support a certain bill of lading or have any other question, feel free to contact us.
What kind of clients are using Klippa?
Klippa’s engine extracts as much data as possible from bills of lading via OCR and machine learning. We support many different types of clients, because our engine is so versatile. 

It is most commonly used by clients in the logistics, customs and transportation sector.
What languages does Klippa support?
All European languages are supported. Our engine performs best on bills of lading in English, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Italian, Portuguese, English Spanish, German, Hebrew and French. Other languages can be supported on request, we’d just need to train our machine learning models.
Is Klippa bill of lading capturing GDPR-compliant?
All the services that Klippa offers are fully GDPR-compliant. By default, we use ISO-certified servers within the European Union for processing. If you are not located within the EU, we can also set up servers in a region of choice. 

Next to that, a data processor agreement is in place. We do not store any of your or your customers’ data after processing.
Can Klippa convert bills of lading to CSV, XLSX, XML or JSON?
Yes we can. Klippa takes pictures of bills of lading, or their PDF equivalents, and converts them to readable text using OCR. From there we use machine learning to turn the text into structured data. Most of the time we use JSON for this, but depending on your preferences we can also convert bills of lading to CSV, XLSX or XML.
Questions?
Please feel free to ask all your questions.
 Get in touch by email, phone or chat!
+31 50 2111631

What is a bill of lading?

A bill of lading, sometimes abbreviated as B/L or BOL, is a legal document issued by a carrier to a shipper that specifies the type, quantity and destination of the goods being carried.

The goods will be delivered by the carrier to a consignee (i.e. the person who bought the goods in the first place), for whom the bill of lading serves as a receipt. 

A bill of lading also acts as a title to the goods. The consignee will need to present the bill of lading in order to secure the release of the shipment by the carrier and claim ownership.

Last but not least, the bill of lading helps the shipper to receive payment. The shipper can hold the original bill of lading, which prevents the consignee from accessing their goods, until payment has been made.

Did you know that apart from bills of lading, Klippa OCR can scan other types of logistic documents, such as certificates of inspection, FBLs, certificates of origin, and many more? Contact us for more information.