BOL, Pick List, Packing Slip, Loading Report: The Outbound Document Set
What each document is for, who reads it, and how the platform generates them all from the same outbound order.
An outbound shipment generates four to six documents. Each document has a different purpose and a different audience. The platform generates them on demand from the same source data, so the BOL and the packing slip and the pick list never disagree about what’s on the truck.
Pick list
For the warehouse-floor operator. /core/outbound/[id]/pick-list. Lists the assets in the order that minimises walking: pallet → rack → position. Used while the order is being assembled. Not for external eyes.
Packing slip
For the recipient. /core/outbound/[id]/packing-slip. Lists the asset items in a buyer-friendly format: category, quantity, grade, total. Goes inside the box (literally — printed and packed) so the recipient knows what should be in the shipment when they unbox.
Bill of Lading (BOL)
For the carrier and for legal. /core/outbound/[id]/bol. The shipping contract: BOL number, shipper and consignee, carrier and tracking reference, number of pieces, weight in kilograms, declared value, a description of the goods, special instructions and the liability text, with signature blocks for shipper, carrier and consignee. The driver signs at pickup. One active bill-of-lading template serves every outbound type — a carrier reads the same document whether the pallets are sold or recycled.
Loading report
For the operations record. /core/outbound/[id]/loading-report. Which items were loaded and which were not, a summary by category, the complete-versus-incomplete count and the material-recovery statement. Used when a buyer reports a shortage and the question is “what left our dock.”
Recycling certificate
For the recycling-type outbound. /core/outbound/[id]/recycling-certificate. Your organization’s own statement of what was sent downstream, with signature blocks for the processing manager, quality assurance and the environmental officer. The downstream recycler’s own proof is a separate record: the external recycling certificate, imported when it arrives and then verified or voided, and pulled into evidence packages once verified. Two documents, two authors, no forged handshake.
Same sender, same stamp, same number
All five carry the sender block from the platform’s company information rather than a name hardcoded in a layout, and each prints the name and version of the template that produced it — or says it used the platform default. Outbound orders are numbered OUT-YYYY-NNNNN, issued atomically per tenant per year, so two operators printing at the same second cannot produce the same number. The PDFs render in the language of the person creating them or the customer they are for, numbers and dates included. Two entities, one truck, paperwork that agrees with itself.