VOCATIONAL TRAINING Both overcharge and loss and damage investigators should be encouraged to take courses of training in traffic work and in legal procedure to bring to them a fuller realization of what is required in the discharge of their duties, and to develop such latent talent as they possess. Periodical statements should be drawn off indicating the volume of business handled in the department so that the efficient and worthy may be rewarded. CHAPTER X SERVICE DIVISION Bills of Lading-Various Forms—Shipping Receipts-Rates This chapter contemplates an exemplification of certain phases of the work of the industrial traffic department too limited in their scope to require an extended discussion. For the purpose of maintaining the balance of the chapter, they are grouped under this general head. BILLS OF LADING Various shipping forms are used to establish delivery to the carrier, and to furnish the carrier with the necessary shipping instructions, information as to the consignee, his address, and the route to employ. The form most generally used is the so-called "bill of lading," which is quite ably treated in a textbook, The Bill of Lading, by Mr. F. A. Larish, of the Western Freight Traffic Association, and published by LaSalle Extension University, Chicago. As applied to rail carriage, bills of lading fall into two classes-the order form and the straight form. Each of these forms in turn is arranged in pads containing four sets of the bill of lading: (1) the original bill of lading, (2) the duplicate, (3) the shipping order, and (4) the memorandum. The original bill of lading is usually sent to the consignee, or, if it be an order shipment, to the bank at his place of business so that he can obtain possession of it and, by this means, possession of the goods. The carrier retains the shipping order as a station record of the shipment, and as the shipper's instructions from which its billing is made and to which, in the event of controversy, reference is to be made. The duplicate and the memorandum are returned to the shipper. Where shipments are made for the account of some jobber, these four sets are used as follows: the original is sent to the consignee, and the duplicate to the jobber; the memorandum is retained by the shipper, and the billing instructions, or shipping order, is retained by the carrier. In instances where jobbers are not involved, sets of three will be sufficient, namely, the original bill of lading, the shipping order, and the memorandum. The forms are arranged alike and bear the same conditions; so it is possible, and, in fact, customary to make out the several forms at one operation by the use of carbon paper or other manifold processes. Since the bill of lading serves a dual purpose, in that it is a receipt for the goods shipped and sets forth the contract of shipment between the shipper and the carrier, great care should be taken in making out these documents. If the activities of the department warrant it, it is recommended that a bright young man be employed in a junior clerical capacity for this sole purpose. It has been said before that service and rates are the controlling essentials with respect to transportation offerings. But a customer may wish to get his goods with all possible dispatch, and as a consequence rates become secondary; or he may be in no particular hurry for the goods, and expects them to be forwarded in the least expensive manner. Many clients, however, leave this matter entirely to the judgment of the firm. Some industrial concerns express themselves on the subject in this way: When the matter of shipment is left to us, we always choose the cheapest method. This includes not only the selection of routes but packing as well. When this responsibility rests with the industry, it is well to have the quotation clerk insert on the bill of lading the rate of freight applying from point of shipment to destination, and the route over which the rate applies. In this connection, attention is directed to the slip, Fig. 29, that is sent to customers of the Baker-Vawter Company with their bills of lading. It may well be inferred that the practice adds materially to the satisfaction of their clientele. SHIPPING RECEIPTS Many commercial houses and industrial enterprises are concerned with limited items of shipment. The outbound shipments of a patent medicine plant, for example, are jugs and advertising matter. Or, on the other hand, the individual shipments of a wholesale grocery house might be so numerous and diversified that it will be impracticable, if not impossible, to indicate them in the spaces provided for that purpose on the bill of lading. As a result of this condition, individual lines of A NEW FEATURE OF BAKER-VAWTER SERVICE Our traffic man, Frank E. Coombs, spends most of his time looking out for our customers' interests. Now he is showing the correct freight rate on all Bills of Lading to make sure that you pay the very lowest amount of freight on shipments from Baker-Vawter Company. Look at the Memorandum copy of the Bill of Lading enclosed with this notice. Right above your name you see some headings and in one of them the correct rate from Benton Harbor, Michigan, to your town. When you get the freight bill, check During the past few months, Baker-Vawter Company has collected from the railroads overcharges amounting to a large sum. Yes, it costs money to do this, but it will save you money, and will help gain and hold the good will of enough of you to mean more business to Baker-Vawter Company. Honestly, now, can you get such service elsewhere? BAKER-VAWTER COMPANY Manufacturers of Baker-Vawter Ledgers, Accounting Records CHICAGO BENTON HARBOR, MICH. HOLYOKE FIG. 29.-A Service Announcement |