Since the official launch of the eCMR protocol in 2017, the transportation sector has undertaken a journey towards achieving paperless supply chains that is still ongoing.
As of now, 34 countries have already ratified the eCMR protocol. The EU states that have not ratified it yet are expected to do so by the end of 2026.
It may seem that there’s still plenty of time left until implementing digital consignment notes truly becomes a necessity. However, there are clear cut monetary benefits and operational efficiency gains of jumping on the eCMR bandwagon early on. Let’s look into the benefits of becoming an early adopter, and answer the most common questions about digital consignment notes and other digital transport documents.
Prefer to watch the video? Click this link for a Q&A with Gerry Daalhuisen, Tribe Lead Dock Scheduling and Yard Management at Transporeon.
The state of eCMR Ratification in the EU
The paper-based version of the CMR, or transport consignment note, has been around since 1956. In February 2008, a new protocol was added to the CMR Convention, which specified that CMR could be managed digitally (eCMR), recognising that cutting paperwork and streamlining data entry would lead to faster problem-solving and cost savings.
To date, 34 countries have adopted this protocol since it came into force on 5 June 2011. It will become mandatory for all EU states at the end of 2026, by which time the remaining eight EU countries yet to comply are expected to accede to the protocol.
Leading the way for digitisation in the Mediterranean region, Greece has been the most recent EU country to commit to going paperless, after acceding to the protocol on October 23, 2023. Some of the other countries, including Italy, Belgium, and Serbia, have been actively working their way towards ratification.
Italy
In April 2023, the Italian government accepted a concept legislation to join the UN eCMR protocol.
Belgium
Belgium hasn’t ratified eCMR yet, however, on March 5, 2018, Benelux launched a pilot to use electronic documents at the border-crossing. The pilot framework allows the use of electronic documents for the border-crossing operations between Belgium, France, and Luxemburg.
Serbia
Since 2008, Serbia has been a part of a pilot eCMR program, together with Germany, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Greece.