The Shipper’s Letter of Instruction (SLI), while not required by any regulatory agency, serves a very important function. Its purpose is to convey specific instructions from the exporter to his agent, usually an international freight forwarder.
An SLI also typically includes a limited Power of Attorney statement that gives the freight forwarder the authority to sign documents on behalf of the exporter.
Preparing and submitting an SLI provides your company with a written record of who received the shipping documents, who to contact for questions, who to contact for proof of export, and who issued the export control information that was used to support the decision to export the goods.
