Sights fixed on e-CMR for Commonwealth of Independent States

Paving the way for future digitalised logistics operations with the adoption of the electronic consignment note, this week’s Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Coordination Transport Council meeting in Moscow has resulted in recommendations for member states to accede to the e-CMR protocol.

Dmitry Cheltsov, who leads IRU’s work in Eurasia, spoke at the event, highlighting the benefits of e-CMR to participants from CIS member states: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

The paper based CMR consignment note is an official document on shipments between senders and transporters. It provides a paper trail of the logistics transfer and is the sole document held by the driver of the truck in relation to the load carried.

With e-CMR, transport operators will be able to input electronically, store logistics information and exchange data, in real time.

The timely recording of data means that agencies instantly receive information on the goods being transported, so any required subsequent actions, such as initiating legal processes, invoicing or even accident response procedures, happen faster and at less cost.

The move also reduces the environmental impact of global trade, using less paper and minimising archival requirements. It limits the potential for human error and can adopt multi-language platforms for seamless international application.