A bill of lading, often abbreviated as B / L, is a ticket that describes your cargo’s journey from its source to its destination. Like an airline issuing a passenger ticket, a B / L is issued by a carrier to a shipper detailing a shipment’s method and route, be it by any combination of air, sea, road or rail. It functions as a contract for the movement of goods, often outlined on the back of the bill by the fine print–the terms of the contract.