Bill of Lading OCR

Mindee’s Bill Of Lading API uses deep learning to automatically, accurately, and instantaneously parse your documents details. In a few seconds, the API extracts a set of data from your PDFs or photos of Bill of Lading, including:

Bill of Lading Number
Shipper
Consignee
Notify Party
Carrier
Items
Port of Loading
Port of Discharge
Place of Delivery
Date of Issue
Departure Date

Set up the API

Create an API key

To begin using the Mindee V1 OCR API, your first step is to create your V1 API key.

You'll need a Bill Of Lading. You can use one of the sample documents provided below.
Access your Bill of Lading API by clicking on the corresponding product card in the Document Catalog
From the left navigation, go to documentation > API Reference, you'll find sample code in popular languages and command line.

from mindee import Client, product, AsyncPredictResponse

# Init a new client
mindee_client = Client(api_key="my-api-key-here")

# Load a file from disk
input_doc = mindee_client.source_from_path("/path/to/the/file.ext")

# Load a file from disk and enqueue it.
result: AsyncPredictResponse = mindee_client.enqueue_and_parse(
    product.BillOfLadingV1,
    input_doc,
)

# Print a brief summary of the parsed data
print(result.document)

const mindee = require("mindee");
// for TS or modules:
// import * as mindee from "mindee";

// Init a new client
const mindeeClient = new mindee.Client({ apiKey: "my-api-key-here" });

// Load a file from disk
const inputSource = mindeeClient.docFromPath("/path/to/the/file.ext");

// Parse the file
const apiResponse = mindeeClient.enqueueAndParse(
  mindee.product.BillOfLadingV1,
  inputSource
);

// Handle the response Promise
apiResponse.then((resp) => {
  // print a string summary
  console.log(resp.document.toString());
});

using Mindee;
using Mindee.Input;
using Mindee.Product.BillOfLading;

string apiKey = "my-api-key-here";
string filePath = "/path/to/the/file.ext";

// Construct a new client
MindeeClient mindeeClient = new MindeeClient(apiKey);

// Load an input source as a path string
// Other input types can be used, as mentioned in the docs
var inputSource = new LocalInputSource(filePath);

// Call the product asynchronously with auto-polling
var response = await mindeeClient
    .EnqueueAndParseAsync<BillOfLadingV1>(inputSource);

// Print a summary of all the predictions
System.Console.WriteLine(response.Document.ToString());

// Print only the document-level predictions
// System.Console.WriteLine(response.Document.Inference.Prediction.ToString());

<?php

use Mindee\Client;
use Mindee\Product\BillOfLading\BillOfLadingV1;

// Init a new client
$mindeeClient = new Client("my-api-key-here");

// Load a file from disk
$inputSource = $mindeeClient->sourceFromPath("/path/to/the/file.ext");

// Parse the file asynchronously
$apiResponse = $mindeeClient->enqueueAndParse(BillOfLadingV1::class, $inputSource);

echo $apiResponse->document;

[

#
# Install the Ruby client library by running:
# gem install mindee
#

require 'mindee'

# Init a new client
mindee_client = Mindee::Client.new(api_key: 'my-api-key')

# Load a file from disk
input_source = mindee_client.source_from_path('/path/to/the/file.ext')

# Parse the file
result = mindee_client.parse(
  input_source,
  Mindee::Product::BillOfLading::BillOfLadingV1
)

# Print a full summary of the parsed data in RST format
puts result.document

# Print the document-level parsed data
# puts result.document.inference.prediction

import com.mindee.MindeeClient;
import com.mindee.input.LocalInputSource;
import com.mindee.parsing.common.AsyncPredictResponse;
import com.mindee.product.billoflading.BillOfLadingV1;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;

public class SimpleMindeeClient {

  public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException, InterruptedException {
    String apiKey = "my-api-key-here";
    String filePath = "/path/to/the/file.ext";

    // Init a new client
    MindeeClient mindeeClient = new MindeeClient(apiKey);

    // Load a file from disk
    LocalInputSource inputSource = new LocalInputSource(new File(filePath));

    // Parse the file asynchronously
    AsyncPredictResponse<BillOfLadingV1> response = mindeeClient.enqueueAndParse(
        BillOfLadingV1.class,
        inputSource
    );

    // Print a summary of the response
    System.out.println(response.toString());

    // Print a summary of the predictions
//  System.out.println(response.getDocumentObj().toString());

    // Print the document-level predictions
//    System.out.println(response.getDocumentObj().getInference().getPrediction().toString());

    // Print the page-level predictions
//    response.getDocumentObj().getInference().getPages().forEach(
//        page -> System.out.println(page.toString())
//    );
  }

}

API_KEY='my-api-key-here'
ACCOUNT='mindee'
ENDPOINT='bill_of_lading'
VERSION='1'
FILE_PATH='/path/to/your/file.png'

# Maximum amount of retries to get the result of a queue
MAX_RETRIES=10

# Delay between requests
DELAY=6

# Enqueue the document for async parsing
QUEUE_RESULT=$(curl -sS --request POST \
  -H "Authorization: Token $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: multipart/form-data" \
  -F "document=@$FILE_PATH" \
  "https://api.mindee.net/v1/products/$ACCOUNT/$ENDPOINT/v$VERSION/predict_async")

# Status code sent back from the server
STATUS_CODE=$(echo "$QUEUE_RESULT" | grep -oP "[\"|']status_code[\"|']:[\s][\"|']*[a-zA-Z0-9-]*" | rev | cut --complement -f2- -d" " | rev)

# Check that the document was properly queued
if [ -z "$STATUS_CODE" ] || [ "$STATUS_CODE" -gt 399 ] || [ "$STATUS_CODE" -lt 200 ]
then
  if [ -z "$STATUS_CODE" ]
  then
    echo "Request couldn't be processed."
    exit 1
  fi
  echo "Error $STATUS_CODE was returned by API during enqueuing. "

  # Print the additional details, if there are any:
  ERROR=$(echo "$QUEUE_RESULT" | grep -oP "[\"|']error[\"|']:[\s]\{[^\}]*" | rev | cut --complement -f2- -d"{" | rev)
  if [ -z "$ERROR" ]
  then
    exit 1
  fi

  # Details on the potential error:
  ERROR_CODE=$(echo "$ERROR" | grep -oP "[\"|']code[\"|']:[\s]\"[^(\"|\')]*" | rev | cut --complement -f2- -d"\"" | rev)
  MESSAGE=$(echo "$QUEUE_RESULT" | grep -oP "[\"|']message[\"|']:[\s]\"[^(\"|\')]*" | rev | cut --complement -f2- -d"\"" | rev)
  DETAILS=$(echo "$QUEUE_RESULT" | grep -oP "[\"|']details[\"|']:[\s]\"[^(\"|\')]*" | rev | cut --complement -f2- -d"\"" | rev)
  echo "This was the given explanation:"
  echo "-------------------------"
  echo "Error Code: $ERROR_CODE"
  echo "Message: $MESSAGE"
  echo "Details: $DETAILS"
  echo "-------------------------"
  exit 1
else

  echo "File sent, starting to retrieve from server..."

  # Get the document's queue ID
  QUEUE_ID=$(echo "$QUEUE_RESULT" | grep -oP "[\"|']id[\"|']:[\s][\"|'][a-zA-Z0-9-]*" | rev | cut --complement -f2- -d"\"" | rev)

  # Amount of attempts to retrieve the parsed document were made
  TIMES_TRIED=1

  # Try to fetch the file until we get it, or until we hit the maximum amount of retries
  while [ "$TIMES_TRIED" -lt "$MAX_RETRIES" ]
  do
    # Wait for a bit at each step
    sleep $DELAY

    # Note: we use -L here because the location of the file might be behind a redirection
    PARSED_RESULT=$(curl -sS -L \
      -H "Authorization: Token $API_KEY" \
      "https://api.mindee.net/v1/products/$ACCOUNT/$ENDPOINT/v$VERSION/documents/queue/$QUEUE_ID")

    # Isolating the job (queue) & the status to monitor the document
    JOB=$(echo "$PARSED_RESULT" | grep -ioP "[\"|']job[\"|']:[\s]\{[^\}]*" | rev | cut --complement -f2- -d"{" | rev)
    QUEUE_STATUS=$(echo "$JOB" | grep -ioP "[\"|']status[\"|']:[\s][\"|'][a-zA-Z0-9-]*" | rev | cut --complement -f2- -d"\"" | rev)
    if [ "$QUEUE_STATUS" = "completed" ]
    then
      # Print the result
      echo "$PARSED_RESULT"

      # Optional: isolate the document:
      # DOCUMENT=$(echo "$PARSED_RESULT" | grep -ioP "[\"|']document[\"|']:[\s].*([\"|']job[\"|'])" | rev | cut -f2- -d"," | rev)
      # echo "{$DOCUMENT}"

      # Remark: on compatible shells, fields can also be extracted through the use of tools like jq:
      # DOCUMENT=$(echo "$PARSED_RESULT" | jq '.["document"]')
      exit 0
    fi
    TIMES_TRIED=$((TIMES_TRIED+1))
  done
fi

echo "Operation aborted, document not retrieved after $TIMES_TRIED tries"
exit 1

Replace my-api-key-here with your new API key, or use the select an API key feature and it will be filled automatically.
Copy and paste the sample code of your desired choice in your application, code environment, terminal etc.
Replace /path/to/the/file.ext with the path to your input document.

Remember to replace with your V1 API key.

Run your code. You will receive a JSON response with the Bill of Lading details.

API Response

Here is the full JSON response you get when you call the API:

{
    "api_request": {
        "error": {},
        "resources": [
            "document",
            "job"
        ],
        "status": "success",
        "status_code": 200,
        "url": "https://api.mindee.net/v1/products/mindee/bill_of_lading/v1/documents/.."
    },
    "document": {
        "id": "bae163d3-ea9c-4972-bd28-2a7598d3d424",
        "inference": {
            "extras": {},
            "finished_at": "2024-10-17T15:01:28.197000",
            "is_rotation_applied": true,
            "pages": [
                {
                    "extras": {},
                    "id": 0,
                    "orientation": {
                        "value": 0
                    },
                    "prediction": {}
                }
            ],
            "prediction": {..},
            "processing_time": 7.42,
            "product": {
                "features": [
                    "bill_of_lading_number",
                    "shipper",
                    "consignee",
                    "notify_party",
                    "carrier",
                    "carrier_items",
                    "port_of_loading",
                    "port_of_discharge",
                    "place_of_delivery",
                    "date_of_issue",
                    "departure_date"
                ],
                "name": "mindee/bill_of_lading",
                "type": "standard",
                "version": "1.1"
            },
            "started_at": "2024-10-17T15:01:20.640000"
        },
        "n_pages": 1,
        "name": "Bill_of_lading_sample.jpg"
    },
    "job": {
        "available_at": "2024-10-17T15:01:28.208000",
        "error": {},
        "id": "8ae70ce3-ef4f-44dc-af7c-738b54e44423",
        "issued_at": "2024-10-17T15:01:20.640000",
        "status": "completed"
    }
}

You can find the prediction within the prediction key found in document > inference > prediction for document-level predictions: it contains the different fields extracted at the document level, meaning that for multi-pages PDFs, we reconstruct a single object using all the pages.


    "document": {
				    ...
            "prediction": {
                "bill_of_lading_number": {
                    "value": "XYZ123456"
                },
                "carrier": {
                    "name": "GLOBAL SHIPPING CO",
                    "professional_number": null,
                    "scac": null
                },
                "carrier_items": [
                    {
                        "description": "ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS\nP/N: 12345\nDRAWING NO. A1B2C3\nP/O: 987654\nLOT NO. 112233\nMADE IN CHINA",
                        "gross_weight": 500.0,
                        "measurement": 1.5,
                        "measurement_unit": "cbm",
                        "quantity": 50.0,
                        "weight_unit": "kgs"
                    }
                ],
                "consignee": {
                    "address": "789 TRADE STREET, SINGAPORE 567890, SINGAPORE",
                    "email": null,
                    "name": "PACIFIC TRADING CO.",
                    "phone": "65-65432100"
                },
                "date_of_issue": {
                    "value": "2022-09-30"
                },
                "departure_date": {
                    "value": null
                },
                "notify_party": {
                    "address": "789 TRADE STREET, SINGAPORE 567890, SINGAPORE",
                    "email": null,
                    "name": "PACIFIC TRADING CO.",
                    "phone": "65-65432100"
                },
                "place_of_delivery": {
                    "value": "456 SHIPPING LANE, LOS ANGELES, CA 90001, USA"
                },
                "port_of_discharge": {
                    "value": "LOS ANGELES, USA"
                },
                "port_of_loading": {
                    "value": "SHANGHAI, CHINA"
                },
                "shipper": {
                    "address": "123 OCEAN DRIVE, SHANGHAI, CHINA",
                    "email": null,
                    "name": "GLOBAL FREIGHT SOLUTIONS INC.",
                    "phone": "86-21-12345678"
                }
            },
            "processing_time": 7.42,
            "product": {
                "features": [
                    "bill_of_lading_number",
                    "shipper",
                    "consignee",
                    "notify_party",
                    "carrier",
                    "carrier_items",
                    "port_of_loading",
                    "port_of_discharge",
                    "place_of_delivery",
                    "date_of_issue",
                    "departure_date"
                ],
                "name": "mindee/bill_of_lading",
                "type": "standard",
                "version": "1.1"
            },
            "started_at": "2024-10-17T15:01:20.640000"
        },
        "n_pages": 1,
        "name": "Bill_of_lading_sample.jpg"
    },
    "job": {
        "available_at": "2024-10-17T15:01:28.208000",
        "error": {},
        "id": "8ae70ce3-ef4f-44dc-af7c-738b54e44423",
        "issued_at": "2024-10-17T15:01:20.640000",
        "status": "completed"
    }
}

Detailed Field Information

Using the above Bill of Lading example the following are the basic fields that can be extracted.

Bill of Lading Number

bill_of_lading_number: Unique identifier assigned to a Bill of Lading.

{
  "bill_of_lading_number": {
    "value": "XYZ123456"
  }
}

Shipper

Shipper: The party responsible for shipping the goods.
- name: The name of the shipper.
- address: The address of the shipper.
- phone: the phone number of the shipper.
- email: the email address of the shipper.

{
  "shipper": {
    "address": "123 OCEAN DRIVE, SHANGHAI, CHINA",
    "email": null,
    "name": "GLOBAL FREIGHT SOLUTIONS INC.",
    "phone": "86-21-12345678"
  }
}

Consignee

consignee: The party to whom the goods are being shipped.
- name: The name of the consignee.
- address: The address of the consignee.
- phone: the phone number of the consignee.
- email: the email address of the consignee.

{
  "consignee": {
    "address": "789 TRADE STREET, SINGAPORE 567890, SINGAPORE",
    "email": null,
    "name": "PACIFIC TRADING CO.",
    "phone": "65-65432100"
  }
}

Notify Party

notify_party: The party to be notified of the arrivals of the goods.
- name: The name of the notify party.
- address: The address of the notify party.
- phone: the phone number of the notify party.
- email: the email address of the notify party.

{
  "notify_party": {
    "address": "789 TRADE STREET, SINGAPORE 567890, SINGAPORE",
    "email": null,
    "name": "PACIFIC TRADING CO.",
    "phone": "65-65432100"
  }
}

Carrier

carrier: The shipping company responsible for the transport of the good.
- name: The name of the carrier.
- professional_number: The professional number of the carrier.
- scac: The Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) of the carrier.

{
  "carrier": {
    "name": "GLOBAL SHIPPING CO",
    "professional_number": null,
    "scac": null
  }
}

Items

carrier_items: The goods being shipped.
- description: A description of the item.
- quantity: The quantity of the item being shipped.
- gross_weight: The gross weight of the item.
- weight_unit: The unit of measurement for weights.
- measurement: The measurement of the item.
- measurement_unit: The unit of measurement for the measurement.

{
  "carrier_items": [
    {
      "description": "ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS\nP/N: 12345\nDRAWING NO. A1B2C3\nP/O: 987654\nLOT NO. 112233\nMADE IN CHINA",
      "gross_weight": 500,
      "measurement": 1.5,
      "measurement_unit": "cbm",
      "quantity": 50,
      "weight_unit": "kgs"
    }
  ]
}

Port of loading

port_of_loading: The port where the goods are loaded on the vessel.

{
  "port_of_loading": {
    "value": "SHANGHAI, CHINA"
  }
}

Port of Discharge

port_of_discharge: The port where the goods are unloaded on the vessel.

{
  "port_of_discharge": {
    "value": "LOS ANGELES, USA"
  }
}

Place of Delivery

place_of_delivery: The place where the goods are to be delivered.

{
  "place_of_delivery": {
    "value": "456 SHIPPING LANE, LOS ANGELES, CA 90001, USA"
  }
}

Date of Issue

date_of_issue: The date when the bill lading is issued.

{
  "date_of_issue": {
    "value": "2022-09-30"
  }
}

Departure Date

departure_date: The date when the vessel departs from the port of loading.

{
  "departure_date": {
    "value": null
  }
}

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Set up the API

API Response

Detailed Field Information

Bill of Lading Number

Shipper

Consignee

Notify Party

Carrier

Items

Port of loading

Port of Discharge

Place of Delivery

Date of Issue

Departure Date