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What is an electronic consignment note (e-CMR)?
The main benefits of the e-CMR are:
Vision
Make the Baltic region a leader in the development of digital public services in the logistics sector, both in EU and non-EU countries. Supporting the international adoption of the e-CMR and other supporting digital documents in different modes of transport, both at the EU level and in non-EU countries, in line with the eFTI Directive.
- Environmental benefits: the elimination of paper documents will save 8 billion sheets of paper per year in the European Union, thus saving 900,000 trees and reducing carbon emissions.
- Greater transparency and efficiency: an electronic consignment note allows real-time tracking of shipments throughout the supply chain. When a consignment is handed over, the e-CMR is instantly available to all parties in the supply chain and allows for a faster settlement process.
- Streamlined business processes: save up to 60% of time spent on administrative matters by eliminating paperwork, emails, phone calls, multiple data entry, etc.
- Benefits for the public sector: the ability to check digital documents without stopping vehicles improves data accessibility, speeds up the checking process and creates better statistics on logistics.
See the EU regulation here: Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 on electronic freight transport information
To support the implementation of the vision, on 15 November 2022, Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka, and Estonian Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology Kristjan Järvan signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which aims to strengthen cooperation between Estonia and Finland in the field of digitalisation of transport, as well as carrying out the activities of real economy.
Grants
A call for proposals is open for companies in the transport and logistics sector to carry out the necessary development work to interface with the e-CMR platform (eFTI platform) to support the digital transformation of the sector. The maximum amount of support per applicant is EUR 15,000 and it can cover up to 90% of eligible costs. The measure has a total budget of €4.7 million and is funded from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The objective of this aid is to promote the digitisation of road freight transport information exchange through the introduction of electronic consignment notes in line with Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council on electronic freight transport information (OJ L 249, 31.07.2020, p. 33-48), which will contribute to the smooth functioning of the internal market. To achieve the objective, transport and logistics operators will be assisted in connecting their systems and processes to the electronic freight transport information (eFTI) platforms to enable them to use the electronic consignment note (e-CMR).
Eligible costs are:
- remuneration and the national taxes and contributions on it;
- the fee payable under a contract under the law of obligations for the provision of a service, and the national taxes and charges payable on that fee.
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