The Shipper’s Letter of Instruction: What It Tells Your Forwarder to Do

Most Bangladeshi importers have seen a bill of lading, a commercial invoice and a packing list. Fewer have seen the document that tells the forwarder how to create the bill of lading in the first place. That document is the shipper’s letter of instruction, or SLI. On an import where your China supplier is the shipper, you may never touch it — but knowing what it contains explains a lot of the mistakes that show up later on the transport documents.

What the SLI is

The SLI is a written instruction from the shipper to the freight forwarder or carrier, authorising them to handle a specific shipment and telling them exactly how to document it. It is an internal working document, not a document of title and not something customs demands. Think of it as the brief: everything the forwarder types onto the bill of lading, the manifest and the export declaration is copied from the SLI.

Because it is the source, an error in the SLI propagates. A misspelled consignee, a vague cargo description, a wrong Incoterm — whatever is on the SLI is what you will be arguing about at Chattogram three weeks later.

What it contains

A complete SLI carries:

• Shipper name and address (on a China import, your supplier or its export agent)
• Consignee name and address — your company exactly as registered, with BIN
• Notify party — usually the consignee, sometimes your C&F agent
• Description of goods, number and type of packages, gross and net weight, measurement in cubic metres
• HS code, and marks and numbers on the cartons
• The Incoterm and named place, and who pays freight (prepaid or collect)
• The type of bill of lading wanted — original set, seaway bill, or telex release — and how many originals
• Container and seal numbers for FCL, or a note that it is LCL to a named CFS
• Any letter-of-credit reference and the exact wording the L/C requires on the transport document
• Routing and the requested vessel or sailing

On a letter-of-credit shipment this is critical: if the L/C says the bill of lading must describe the goods a certain way, that wording has to be on the SLI or the bank will reject the documents. Our guide on how a letter of credit works explains why a single mismatched word can hold up payment.

Who prepares it, and who signs it

The shipper prepares and signs the SLI. On an export from China, that is your supplier or the trading company acting as exporter of record. They know the container and seal numbers, the exact packing, and the export-declaration details. On an FOB shipment where you have nominated the forwarder, your supplier still issues the SLI to that nominated forwarder — it just uses the forwarder you chose.

The signature matters because the SLI usually includes a declaration that the cargo details are true and that the goods are not undeclared dangerous goods. That is the shipper putting its name to the accuracy of the description — which is also why you want the description to match your invoice, not a rounded-off version of it.

SLI and the power of attorney

In some jurisdictions the SLI doubles as a limited power of attorney, authorising the forwarder to sign the export declaration as agent for the shipper. The China export declaration is filed by the exporter of record or its declared agent, so on your imports this authority sits on the China side. What you should take from it: the forwarder acts on written authority from the shipper, within the limits the SLI sets. If the SLI does not authorise something — say, switching the bill of lading — the forwarder should not do it without fresh instructions.

Why an importer should still care about a document they do not sign

Three reasons. First, when a transport document comes back wrong, asking to see the SLI shows you where the error entered — the forwarder’s typing, or the shipper’s brief. Second, if you are on FOB and have nominated the forwarder, you can give your supplier a filled SLI template with the consignee block, notify party, HS code and B/L instructions already correct, so they only add packing and container data. That single step removes most consignee and description errors. Third, on an L/C shipment you can hand your supplier the exact goods-description wording the L/C needs, in writing, before they instruct the forwarder.

Sending a pre-filled SLI template upstream is one of the cheapest quality-control moves in importing. It costs an email and prevents an amendment.

SLI versus the documents it creates

• SLI — instruction from shipper to forwarder; internal; no legal title
• Bill of lading — issued by carrier; evidence of contract of carriage, receipt for goods, and (if negotiable) document of title
• Commercial invoice — issued by seller; basis of customs value
• Export declaration / manifest — filed with customs at origin; built from SLI data

Get the SLI right and the rest tends to line up. Get it wrong and every downstream document inherits the mistake.

The SLI on an LCL consolidation

When your cargo is one of many inside a groupage container, you or your supplier issue an SLI to the consolidator for your portion. The consolidator issues you a house bill of lading built from that SLI, and gives the ocean carrier a single master SLI covering the whole box, which produces one master bill of lading in the consolidator’s name. Your SLI still drives every field on your house bill of lading, so the same accuracy rules apply — errors just surface later at the CFS in Chattogram instead of at the load terminal. Our note on how LCL consolidation works covers that structure.

A pre-filled SLI template: what to lock

If you are on FOB with a nominated forwarder, hand your supplier a template with these fields already completed: the consignee block with your exact registered name, address and BIN; the notify party; the HS code; the goods description worded exactly as your commercial invoice; the Incoterm and named place; the bill of lading type and number of originals; and any letter-of-credit wording that must appear. Leave only the container number, seal number, carton count and weights for the supplier to fill in after loading. That single step removes most consignee-name and cargo-description disputes before they happen.

The dangerous-goods declaration on the SLI

The SLI carries a declaration that the cargo is correctly described and, where it contains hazardous material, that the material is declared and packed to the IMDG code. A supplier who marks “general cargo” on goods that actually contain lithium batteries, aerosols or flammable adhesive has filed a false declaration, and the fines and liability fall on the shipper. If your product has any dangerous-goods element, confirm the SLI states it, with the correct UN number and packing group, before the forwarder is instructed.

Freight terms on the SLI: prepaid or collect

The SLI states whether ocean freight is prepaid — paid at origin by the shipper — or collect, paid at destination by you. This has to line up with your Incoterm. An FOB purchase is freight collect: you arrange and pay the main carriage. A CFR or CIF purchase is freight prepaid: the seller has paid it and it is built into your price. A mismatch on this single field means either a freight invoice you did not expect at Chattogram, or paying twice, and it is one of the most common SLI errors on a first import. Check that the freight term on the draft bill of lading matches the Incoterm on your commercial invoice before the document is finalised.

Want your China supplier briefing the forwarder correctly the first time? DE International prepares SLI templates, checks draft bills of lading against your L/C, and moves the cargo door to door into Bangladesh. Contact us via the contact page, see services, or the shop. Related: essential import documents explained, sea freight cut-off times, and telex release explained.