Mandatory electronic CMR: current status and future prospects

The 2023-2024 academic year has come to an end and, with it, it is important to take stock of the most relevant issues that have occurred for the transport and logistics sector in the field of mandatory electronic CMR.

September 2023 started with the idea that in one year, in September 2024, eCMR would already be mandatory in Spain, since the Mobility Law establishes this time horizon in its text.

However, the holding of elections in July 2023 put a brake on this regulation, which has been pending in parliament since 2022.

Thus, the course began without a defined Minister of Transport and with the uncertainty of how long the approval of the Sustainable Mobility Law would be delayed.

It was in November when Óscar Puente was appointed as the new Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, when everything was reactivated.

However, it was not until January 2024 when Puente announced in a public act that the Draft Sustainable Mobility Law would go to the Council of Ministers in February, with the intention that it would be approved before December.

As the Minister explained, the final approval of this Law depends on the seventh batch of European funds. Therefore, it could be affirmed that thanks to the commitment established with Brussels, in the first quarter of the 2024-2025 academic year the Sustainable Mobility Law will be approved.

What does this mean for the mandatory electronic CMR? We remind you!

Mandatory electronic CMR and Sustainable Mobility Law

Thus, as announced by Puente, in February 2024 the Council of Ministers gave the green light to the same text validated in December 2022 and agreed to process it urgently in order to comply with the commitments reached with the European Commission in the Addendum to the Recovery Plan.

With this important step, the countdown was on for the entry into force of a law that is set to change the entire transport and mobility landscape in Spain.

In fact, the freight transport sector will be greatly affected by this law, which in its 8th transitory provision stipulates that “the administrative control document required for the performance of public road freight transport must necessarily be digital as of September 1, 2024”.

However, in view of the invalidation of this initial date, the Ministry of Transport, without officially announcing it, points to January 2026 for the entry into force of the eCMR in Spain.

Mandatory electronic CMR and eFTI Regulation

For its part, the eFTI Regulation has not led to significant changes in the eCMR’s trajectory.

The most relevant point is that on August 21, 2024, the aforementioned regulation comes into force, which also triggers the countdown to mandatory eCMR in Europe.

SeamLess eCMR FIELDEAS Track and Trace in the course 2023-2024

Although there has not been much movement around eCMR in the private sector, we have heard the Ministry’s representatives mention it repeatedly in their speeches, which demonstrates the strategic importance of its implementation.

In the private sector, on the other hand, the actions have not ceased and from FIELDEAS Track and Trace we have worked tirelessly to develop an informative environment around eCMR.

First of all, we must remember that in this house we use the concept of electronic CMR or eCMR as an umbrella to cover all transport documents that can and should be digitized.

In this way, the FIELDEAS Track and Trace team has promoted multiple initiatives to encourage the use of eCMR in the sector:

• Webinar Series “Visibility and Control for Supply Chains on the Move”. In February we held three webinars focused on supply chain visibility, where the session “Get ready for eCMR with full legal assurance” stood out.
• We celebrate the second edition of our FIELDEAS Talks “An old formula for the new times: veni vidi vici…signum”.where we discussed how to achieve full visibility at all levels of the supply chain and analyzed the regulation of the different transport documents, as well as the conditions for them to have full legal and regulatory guarantees.
• We prepared two White Papers focused on the digitization of transport documentation. The first one, “Why implement an eCMR system?”, analyzes why implement an eCMR system, highlights its main benefits and clarifies regulatory and technological issues.
• In the White Paper “Which transport documents will have to be digitized by law?”, we describe each of the transport documents (control document, consignment note, CMR and delivery note and their electronic versions, as well as the regulations that govern them.
• Together with the Spanish Logistics Center (CEL) we are preparing the study “Degree of implementation of eCMR in Spain”. Follow us on our blog and in our newsletter SeamLess eCMR to not miss any detail about this study: presentation, main conclusions…

In addition, we have been present at various industry events, with the firm objective of accompanying companies on the path of their digital transformation:

• 23rd AECOC National Transport Forum. We were present at this new edition, which was held under the title “A new route for the sector”.
• I Annual Shippers’ Conference, promoted by the Spanish Logistics Center (CEL) and Transprime Spanish Shippers’ Council.
• III Transport Forum organized by the Spanish Logistics Center (CEL).
• XI Alimarket FMCG Logistics Meeting.
• SIL Barcelona.
• 5th AECOC Smart Distribution Congress.

Thus, we close a year full of meetings, training, information, networking and growth, where the SeamLess eCMR of FIELDEAS Track and Trace has gained momentum and has positioned itself as the most flexible, advanced and secure digitalization solution for transport documents in the market.

We continue to work hand in hand with our customers and at the return of summer we start the new course with multiple novelties, new contents and meetings.

In our blog and our newsletter on Linkedin you can keep up to date with the actions of FIELDEAS and all the news of the sector.

On to the next level!