Create retailer-compliant VICS BOLs (VICS Bills of Lading) instantly with AIMS360 apparel ERP software—streamlining fashion shipping, reducing errors, and ensuring compliance for every order.
VICS BOL Software
AIMS360 turns a retail order into a compliant VICS bill of lading: the 17 digit GS1 US BOL number with its check digit calculated, scannable barcodes, and an exact match to the 856 ASN and the UCC-128 labels on the cartons. No template to maintain and nothing typed twice.
What is VICS BOL software? It produces a GS1 US standard bill of lading from your order data rather than from a blank form. AIMS360 builds the BOL from the retail order and the pick and pack record, calculates the 17 digit BOL number with a valid check digit, prints the barcodes, and archives the document against the order it came from. The same data produces the 856 ASN and the carton labels, so the three documents cannot disagree.
Built into the ERP
Most brands type the bill of lading into a blank form or a carrier portal, then key the same shipment into the ASN and the labels. Three chances to get a carton count wrong, and the retailer's dock finds all three.
Ship from, ship to, purchase order numbers, carton counts and weights come from the order and the pick ticket. There is no template to fill in, no spreadsheet formula to maintain, and no field to re-type per shipment.
The 17 digit GS1 US BOL number is assembled from your company prefix and a serial that increments on its own, with the check digit calculated rather than typed, and printed as a GS1-128 barcode alongside the SCAC and PRO.
The BOL, the 856 ASN and the UCC-128 carton labels are generated from the same shipment record, so purchase order references and carton counts agree. Mismatches between those three are a common source of deductions.
The number itself
Formally the GS1 US Bill of Lading Number. Brands and retailers still call it the VICS BOL number, and the structure is fixed.
| Part | What it is |
|---|---|
| GS1 US Company Prefix | Issued to your company by GS1 US. The same prefix behind your UCC-128 carton labels and your GTINs, so one identity carries across the shipment. |
| Serial reference | A sequential number that must be unique per shipment. AIMS360 increments it, which is the part that goes wrong when a person is doing it by hand across two warehouses. |
| Zero padding | The prefix and serial together are padded to a 16 digit base. |
| Mod-10 check digit | Calculated from the 16 digit base and appended to make 17. A typo anywhere earlier makes the check digit wrong, which is how a scanner catches it at the dock rather than a person catching it in the office. |
AIMS360 stores your prefix once, increments the serial per shipment and calculates the check digit, so the number is valid and unique without anyone doing arithmetic. If you do not hold a GS1 US Company Prefix yet, implementation walks you through obtaining one, because the same prefix is needed for your carton labels.
The workflow
Every field the standard asks for already exists in the system by the time the order is packed, so producing the document is a short workflow rather than a data entry exercise.
An 850 purchase order imports as a sales order, and the order is picked and packed against it.
Ship from, ship to, purchase orders, carton counts and weights are pulled in. Nothing is looked up.
Carrier, SCAC and PRO come from the shipment record, and you confirm them on one screen.
Serial increments from your GS1 US prefix and the Mod-10 check digit is calculated.
GS1-128 barcodes for the BOL number, SCAC and PRO print to the standard layout.
Email or export a PDF to the carrier or 3PL, and the BOL is archived against the originating order for audits and disputes.
The shipment that produced the bill of lading also produces the 856 ASN the retailer scans at the dock, the UCC-128 labels on the cartons, and the 810 invoice that follows it. If a deduction still arrives, it is tracked to resolution in EDI chargeback management against the shipment that caused it.
Brands fulfilling from a third party warehouse get the same result: the carton detail comes back from the 3PL and the documents are built from it. See 3PL integrations.
The comparison worth making
A free PDF or Excel template is fine for a shipment or two. It stops being fine at the point where shipping several retail orders a week means doing check digit arithmetic by hand.
| A blank template or fillable PDF | VICS BOL in AIMS360 | |
|---|---|---|
| Shipment data | Typed in from the order, every time | Pulled from the order and the pick ticket |
| The 17 digit number | Assembled and check digit calculated by hand | Serial increments and the check digit is calculated |
| Barcodes | None, so the dock keys the number in | GS1-128 for the BOL number, SCAC and PRO |
| Agreement with the ASN | Nothing connects the two documents | Same shipment record produces both |
| Archive | A folder somewhere, by filename | Attached to the order and the purchase order |
| When a deduction arrives | Reconstruct what shipped from memory | The document, the ASN and the labels are on the record |
If what you want is the standard explained, the form itself, and where a template still makes sense, that is a separate read: the complete VICS bill of lading guide.
Retailers and onboarding
No retailer asks only for a bill of lading. It arrives alongside label placement rules, ASN structure, routing windows and invoice terms, all in the same document, all changing without much notice.
AIMS360 has apparel EDI specialists on staff rather than a general helpdesk. They read each retailer's guide, configure the BOL and label setup, and run certification, then keep the setup aligned as the standard and the guides change. That is the same managed EDI service behind every retailer connection.
Because the function is part of the ERP and reads records already in your system, the gating item is data rather than development: items and UPCs clean, your GS1 US prefix in place, and each retailer's rules configured. See the 350+ EDI retailers already certified.
VICS BOL FAQ
Software that produces a GS1 US standard bill of lading from your order data instead of from a blank form. AIMS360 builds the BOL from the retail order and the pick and pack record, calculates the 17 digit BOL number with a valid check digit, prints the barcodes and archives the document against the order it came from, so there is no template to maintain and no double entry. The standard itself is explained in the VICS bill of lading guide.
It pulls ship from, ship to, purchase order numbers, carton counts and weights from the retail order and the pick ticket, generates the 17 digit GS1 US BOL number, and prints the BOL to the standard layout with a bar coded BOL number, SCAC and PRO. You confirm carrier and load details on one screen, then print, email or export a PDF. The order behind it usually arrives as an 850 purchase order.
It is a 16 digit base made of your GS1 US Company Prefix plus a sequential serial reference, zero padded to 16 digits, with a Modulo-10 check digit appended for the full 17. AIMS360 stores your prefix, increments the serial for every shipment and calculates the check digit, so the number is always valid and unique. The same prefix is used on your UCC-128 carton labels.
Yes. All three are generated from the same order and pick and pack data, so purchase order numbers, carton counts and handling unit detail agree across the bill of lading, the 856 ASN and the carton labels. Mismatches between those documents are one of the most common root causes of retailer chargebacks, which is why generating them from one record matters more than generating each one well.
Yes. VICS BOL is the common industry name for what is now formally the GS1 US Bill of Lading. The standard originated with the Voluntary Inter-Industry Commerce Standards, which merged into GS1 US in 2012, and GS1 US has maintained it since. Most retailers and brands still say VICS BOL, and AIMS360 generates the document to the current GS1 US standard.
No. The bill of lading is generated from the order in one step, so there is no blank PDF, Excel or Word file to fill in, no formulas to maintain and no fields to re-type per shipment. If you want to understand the form itself, or you are shipping so rarely that a template is still reasonable, the VICS BOL guide says so plainly.
Yes. For EDI bulk and drop ship retail orders the BOL is generated from the order and pick and pack data, so it ties back to the 850 purchase order and forward to the 856 ASN. Because the documents share one source, the BOL, the ASN and the labels stay consistent for the whole shipment. The retailer side of drop ship is covered on the EDI drop ship page.
The GS1 US bill of lading is a standard rather than a per retailer format, so the document is the same across retailers; what varies is the routing guide around it. AIMS360 supports 350+ retailers through native EDI, and the specialists who configure your connection read each guide and set the BOL and label rules to match. The full list is on the EDI retailers page.
Yes. The bill of lading prints to the GS1 US standard layout with the bar coded 17 digit number, can be emailed or exported as a PDF to your carrier or 3PL, and is archived against the originating order and purchase order. That archive is what makes a chargeback dispute a five minute job, and it feeds chargeback management when a deduction does land.
A fillable PDF makes you hand enter every field, work out the 17 digit number and its check digit yourself, produces no barcode and keeps no link to your ASN. AIMS360 does all of it from the order and keeps the document attached to the record. The trade off is real: the PDF costs nothing and the ERP is a system you implement, which is why that comparison belongs in the guide rather than being waved away.
Yes. Your GS1 US Company Prefix forms the front of the 17 digit BOL number, and it is the same prefix behind your UCC-128 carton labels and your GTINs. If you do not have one, your AIMS360 implementation specialist walks you through obtaining it from GS1 US, and it is worth starting early because retailer certification depends on it.
AIMS360's apparel EDI specialists configure the BOL and label setup, read the retailer's routing guide and run certification. Because the function is part of the ERP and reads records already in your system, the gating item is data rather than development: items and UPCs clean, the GS1 prefix in place, and each retailer's rules configured during implementation. The wider service is described on the EDI page.
Related
Last reviewed 5 September 2026 by the AIMS360 EDI team. The 17 digit structure reflects the current GS1 US Bill of Lading standard. Retailer routing guides change without notice, so requirements are confirmed against the guide issued to your brand during onboarding.
Get started
Bring a retailer order and a routing guide. We will build the BOL from it, show the number and barcodes generate themselves, and show the ASN and labels that come from the same record.
