CMR

What does CMR stand for?

The CMR Convention is an international treaty between European countries and some countries outside of Europe on the legal rules regarding the carriage of goods by road. The abbreviation CMR stands for 'Convention relative au Contrat de Transport International de Marchandises par Route' and was drawn up in 1956 in Geneva. The CMR Convention specifies the (information) obligations and liabilities, including the mandatory presence of an internationally accepted CMR bill of lading. The CMR also stipulates any compensation that needs to be paid. In 2008, the convention was expanded to include the protocol for the electronic bill of lading, which describes the digital form of the bill of lading and the digital signature. The CMR is a so-called mandatory law that automatically applies to all international road transport to or from a location within a member state. Carriers can also decide that the CMR law is applicable to their domestic transport.

What is an eCMR?

An e-CMR is a digital bill of lading of the CMR type, so it can be used for international road transport between countries that have signed the CMR convention. This widely used bill of lading offers shippers, carriers and recipients the opportunity to optimise their transport processing and improve communication in the chain. In the Benelux there are various ICT platforms on which companies can create a digital bill of lading or e-CMR and exchange it with their partners. In the Netherlands and UK, it is for example Transfollow that offers shippers, logistics service providers and transporters the API specifications that enable integration of the digital bill of lading into their own business software. In Belgium there are also parties that offer e-CMR solutions, such as: Pionira, Transport-IT, Alpega, Ubidata, Coberec and East Point Trading.  

Trimble's total solution for eCMR

Telematics specialist Trimble offers an integrated solution to process eCMR bills of lading. The carrier creates the eCMR on a digital e-CMR platform, after which it is sent from the TMS to the Trimble on-board computer. The driver receives his job order and can perform all necessary actions from there, like having the eCMR digitally signed. The signed bill of lading is then automatically available again via the platform to all parties involved in the supply chain.