Bill of lading field
What are PO numbers on a bill of lading?
These are your customer's purchase-order numbers, not yours. The receiving clerk matches the pallet against an open PO before they will sign for it, so this box is what lets them do that without calling you.
Why it matters
It is the link between the freight and the buyer's own systems. Without it the pallet arrives as an unidentified delivery against an unknown order, and it sits on the dock while somebody works out what it is.
The mistake that costs money
Putting your own sales-order number in instead of the customer's PO. It means nothing to their receiving system, and on a retail delivery it can trigger a compliance deduction on its own.
Worth knowing
- Use the customer's PO number, exactly as they issued it.
- Multiple POs on one shipment all belong here, separated clearly.
- Retail routing guides usually make this mandatory, not optional.
- Repeat it on the packing slip so the dock can reconcile both documents.