What is a Consignee in Shipping?

Usually the owner of the delivered goods, the consignee is also the party receiving the goods. The consignee can be an individual or a group who is cataloged on the Bill of Lading (BOL). Unless otherwise stated and agreed upon, the consignee is legally responsible for acceptance of the goods and must be present at the time of delivery.

Consignee vs. Consignor When Shipping Freight

To differentiate between a consignor and a consignee when shipping freight, it’s important to understand what a consignor is. A consignor is in charge of shipping products. They could be classified as a distribution center, a factory, or the origin of a dropshipping hub.

And, as mentioned before, a consignee is an entity that receives goods and is the ultimate owner of those goods. For example, if you had products shipped to one of your warehouses, the person at the warehouse signing off for the shipment would not be listed as the consignee. Instead, your business would be listed as the consignee since you’re accepting the shipment and responsible for it.

What is the Shipping Cosignee Notify?

To answer this question, it’s essential to understand the notify party first. When your items get delivered, the notify party needs to be informed of their delivery. The same entity could serve the role of consignee and notify party, however, this need not be true all the time since a notify party could be anyone or anything from a shipping agent to a customer.

Here are some differences to keep in mind when the notify party and the consignee are different establishments:

1. Carriers can only handover goods to consignees
2. While having a consignee is mandatory, you can choose whether or not to have a notify party
3. There can be only one consignee, while you can have more than one notify party

It is important to remember that notify parties cannot take ownership or title of the goods unless they are also listed as the cosignee.