VICS Bill of Lading

(As per Investopedia) Bill of Lading is a legal document between the shipper of a particular good and the carrier detailing the type, quantity and destination of the good being carried. Bill of lading also serves as a receipt of shipment when the good is delivered to the predetermined destination. This document must accompany the shipped goods, no matter the form of transportation, and must be signed by an authorized representative from the carrier, shipper and receiver.

VICS Bill of Lading is a standardized bill of lading form created by the VICS (Voluntary Inter-Industry Commerce Standards) and is primarily used by general merchandise retail industry.

Straight Bill of Lading is basic bill of lading form that lists shipper, consignee and good being shipped.

VICS has suggested guidelines to create the VICS bill of lading. However, there isn’t any standard VICS bill of lading form and retailers have made modifications to this form. The modified VICS BOL format may contain more data specific to the retailer / consignee but the basic layout generally remains the same.

VICS has suggested guidelines to create the VICS bill of lading. However, there isn’t any standard VICS bill of lading form and retailers have made modifications to this form. The modified VICS BOL format may contain more data specific to the retailer / consignee but the basic layout generally remains the same.

VICS bill of lading forms use a 17 digit bill of lading number that includes shipper’s UCC number and a check digit. Inclusion of the UCC number generates system-wide unique bill of lading number that helps retailer systems track each shipment with a unique handle.

UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) number is a unique identifier assigned to manufacturers by the UCC council / GS1.

Using SmartBOL® to create VICS bill of lading, ensures the following:


  • Unique 17 digit bill of lading number using your UCC code
  • Bill of lading number and Pro number barcodes
  • Automatically selects regular or special instructions VICS bill of lading and prints supplement bill of lading pages

SmartBOL® Cloud supports VICS Bill of Lading

SmartBOL creates VICS bill of lading with 17 digit bill of lading, and supplement page. Online, user friendly system creates shipments with various bills of lading formats, consolidates shipments using master bill of lading. Maintains history, and address/products database. Free trial available.