Who’s a consignee?
A consignee is the person who ordered goods or the receiver of the goods being transported. On the transportation documents, the address of the consignee is where the goods are to be delivered unless instructed otherwise. They’re listed as the buyer on the BOL form. A consignee can order less than truckload (LTL) or full truckload (FTL) cargo. When the cargo gets to the consignee, they should inspect them to ensure they’ve been delivered safely before signing the BOL form.
Consignee - In The Field
The consignee pays for the goods and the shipment fees. In case the consignee receives the goods in poor condition or the wrong cargo, they have the right not to sign the BOL form because it acts as the receipt of goods having been delivered. When the consignee ships LTL goods, they take longer to arrive than FTL goods because the carrier has to stop multiple times to deliver other goods. In this case, the consignee only pays for part of the truck occupied by their cargo. The smaller the cargo, the lesser they will pay. A consignee is updated on when their goods will arrive so that they can be around.