Transport document in road freight transport - paper versus electronic consignment note CMR

Abstract

The contract of carriage in road freight transport is regulated by the Convention on the Contract of Carriage in Road Freight Transport (CMR Convention). This Convention provides for a single accompanying document - the CMR consignment note. It is one of the most important documents in road freight transport. Since the adoption of the Convention, this paper document has accompanied the goods throughout the transport. Given that time goes on and everything is being modernized, digitized is no different in the case of a consignment note. In 2008, an Additional Protocol was adopted, which allows the use of an electronic consignment note instead of a paper consignment note. The aim of this paper is to analyze the most important document in road freight transport in its paper and electronic form. Another aim is to compare the paper and electronic consignment note, to explain the advantages of its introduction and also to explain why it is not widely used in modern times.

Exploring the Implementation Challenges of the Electronic Freight Transport Information (eFTI) Regulation: An Empirical Perspective from Greece

“…Ref. [24] analyzes the transition to electronic documents in road freight and assesses efficiency and data integrity. The study further highlights the advantages of e-documents in data accuracy and operational efficiency.…”