E-CMR

Description

The e-CMR is the electronic transportation consignment note. The CMR governs the rules for transporting goods internationally which is covered by the United Nations Convention for the Carriage of Goods.
In February 2008, a protocol was added to the CMR Convention, which requested that CMR could be managed electronically, via ‘e-CMR’. This protocol came into effect on 5 June 2011, and so far, 13 countries have ratified this new electronic system. These include Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, France, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany. Since January 2017, a few pilots have been running between France and Spain and in Belgium (domestic transportation and cross border transport with the Netherlands).

Objective

Reducing administrative costs (less paper, faster invoicing, less delivery and reception discrepancies to manage …)
Faster and more accurate data exchange
Increased supply chain visibility
Increased transportation accuracy with real time monitoring
Making Customs and tax procedures smoother and easier
An improved CO2 footprint

Project inputs:

TransFollow app for e-CMR to be installed for every truck.
Each party has to connect to TransFollow platform and use their own business software to exchange information, receive or deliver digital signatures and monitor the status of a shipment.
Information about the cargo – the information of the cargo including date, time, shipment number, shipment method, type of cargo etc. and the data will be utilized for shipments.

Project benefits:

Lower costs
Handling costs can be up to three to four times less expensive
Faster administration with reduced data entry, no paper handling, no fax/scan/letter exchanges, no paper archiving, etc.
Faster invoicing
Reduction of delivery and reception discrepancies

Requirements and Struggles:

According to the additional protocol to the convention on CMR, it required the two neighbouring countries that have signed this protocol to meet the requirements of this convention (security and accessibility of data)
Larger companies may well already have their own systems and hardware which will allow them to produce and manage e-CMRs internally. Some companies do not have the internal systems necessary for this and therefore need to use a third party service provider to fulfil the requirements for e-CMR and to enable them to move towards paperless deliveries across Europe.
Currently, TransFollow is one of the first providers on the European market that offers a legally compliant electronic platform by means of which the e-CMR can be submitted, exchanged, tracked and signed.

Safety/secure:

Regarding the proof of collection and delivery, the e-CMR is more secure than the paper version as it is available in real time and it includes both the signature and the GPS positioning.
Data security is guaranteed from end-to-end. Robust IT system to protect the networks and archive the collected data. All the data is available on a web portal by EDI or via an API.

Project output:

A mobile application was created to assist the driver and was successfully tested for a period of time in different cities with different goals.

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