What is a shipper letter of instruction?
What is a shipper letter of instruction?
What is a Shipper’s Letter of Instruction (SLI)? A shipping document, generated by the shipper/exporter, that provides transportation and documentation instructions for a freight forwarder or carrier.
Is a shipper letter of instruction required?
An SLI is not a mandatory or legally binding requirement. However, the dependency may vary from country to country, determining the country-specific rules and foreign trade regulations. It serves as an order form as well as proof of purchasing from the forwarder.
Who is responsible for filling out an SLI?
Who Uses the SLI? The Shipper’s Letter of Instruction is completed by the exporter in advance and is sent to the freight forwarder with the other export paperwork.
How do you fill out a shippers letter of instructions?
Here are the things you need to identify in order to correctly complete your SLI:
- How the goods are shipping.
- The correct contact information on your SLI.
- Who’s filing through AES.
- Who’s selecting the freight forwarder.
- The Incoterm you’re using.
- The proper classification of your product.
Who provide shipping instructions?
Shipping instructions is a document, provided by the exporter (or agent) to the carrier, containing details of the cargo to be shipped, the parties involved and the requirements for its transportation. The shipping instructions are used by the carrier to create the Bill of Lading.
Why is an SLI required?
The best reason to accurately complete an SLI is to avoid misunderstandings between the shipper and the forwarder that can lead to financial losses. Having all the necessary details and instructions consolidated in the SLI helps any export be more efficient and compliant.
Is an SLI mandatory?
The exporter is granting permission to the freight forwarder to act as the authorized forwarding agent for U.S. export control and customs. SLI is not a mandatory document or a legally binding document.
What is shipping instruction document?
Why shipping instructions is important?
The Shipper’s Letter of Instruction essentially enables a freight forwarder of your choice to be the acting agent for your shipment. All shipping questions and actions regarding carriers, ports, insurance, duties, etc. will all be communicated to the freight forwarder.
What is SLI shipping form?
The Shipper’s Letter of Instruction (SLI) can be used to provide Expeditors with all required data elements for transmission of the Electronic Export Information (EEI) as well as shipping instructions if Expeditors is acting as forwarding agent.
Why is shipping instruction important?
The Shipping Instructions (SI) is an important document providing you and Safmarine all the details needed to process your shipment and invoice it correctly. Your shipping instruction contain information that feeds directly into your Bill of Lading.
What is the purpose of SLI?
An SLI is a standardized form from the exporter to the freight forwarder specifying how and where to handle the shipment being exported. It provides specific instructions to the forwarder about how the goods are to be transported.
