Everything ready for the Electronic Road Transport Document? Keys to a successful implementation

The Live Webinar Everything ready for the Electronic Road Transport Document? held by FIELDEAS has been the meeting point for hundreds of industry professionals to address all regulatory, technical and implementation issues of digital transport documents.

The objective of this webinar, beyond clarifying the entire regulatory framework, has focused on highlighting the importance of going beyond minimal digitization, which will only allow us to comply with the mandatory Digital Control Document or DeCA (Electronic Administrative Control Document) in October 2026, and betting on a complete digitization strategy, covering the entire documentary ecosystem of the transport of goods by road and allowing us to effortlessly face all future regulations that are to come.

However, the key to the success of this digitization, both at minimum and maximum levels, lies in the quality and flexibility of the technological solution implemented.

Efficient Electronic Transport Document

During the webinar, the arrival of new regulations that may tighten the technical requirements to be met by the digital control document itself was highlighted, with the aim of aligning the digitization of transport documents in Spain to the future European regulations (eFTI Regulation).

Far from stressing, as explained by Óscar López, CEO of FIELDEAS, this new regulation should be seen as a motivation to address the complete digitalization of the transport document ecosystem, thus obtaining a truly efficient electronic transport document.

Thus, the main recommendation of this Live Webinar is that this whole transformation process, which must be carried out in order to comply with the digital control document in the first place, should be evaluated with a forward-looking perspective and with the objective of obtaining an electronic transport document that meets all operational needs and has a clear objective: efficiency.

Smart Docs Hub: All-terrain transportation solution for efficient electronic document transport

Far from being a utopia, the efficient electronic transport document is already a reality with flexible, simple and secure solutions such as the FIELDEAS Track and Trace document digitization module, Smart Docs Hub.

“This regulatory advance is nothing more than the confirmation of the need to have a platform that is prepared to navigate at the same pace as this regulation and any other that may come along. Flexibility is the key to the success of any digitalization platform,” said Óscar López.

Smart Docs Hub, contemplates this flexibility and has all the capabilities to respond to current requirements, but, above all, to cover those that will come in the future.

Flexibility of Smart Docs Hub

• Allows you to manage different transport documents (control document, consignment note, eCMR, etc.).
• Supports documents from external systems, templates generated on the platform or paper digitization by scanning.
• Different signature modalities, including advanced digital signature (digital certificate, biometric signature, OTP) in line with eIDAS and ROTT.
• It offers several channels for document management:

– The T&T App (Android and iOS).

– App Lite via link, no login required.

– Totem App, in loading or unloading centers.

– Remote signature

– Whatsapp Channel

Legal guarantee in Smart Docs Hub

• Platform approved by the Ministry of Transport for in-transit verification.
• Online and offline operation, allowing controls even without connection.
• Use of advanced digital signature (biometric, certificate or OTP) in accordance with ROTT, eIDAS and eFTI regulations.
• Legal, administrative and evidentiary validity of documents.

How does the digitization process work in Smart Docs Hub?

• Integration with customer systems via API, EDI or other industry formats.
• Document management during transport, including signature, exchange and verification by authorities.
• Registration of incidents, driver changes or annotations without affecting the validity of the document.
• Complete real-time traceability for shippers, carriers and consignees.
• Automatic delivery of copies of the signed document, facilitating administrative processes such as invoicing or VAT recovery.
• Custody and return of information: secure storage for at least 5 years.
• Possibility of returning the information to the customer’s system with full traceability for internal management.

Overall, Smart Docs Hub enables digitization of the entire transportation document cycle, improving operational efficiency and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Impact of the electronic document according to type of transport

During the webinar, clarification was also provided on aspects that are included in the regulations but which raise doubts.

The regulations establish that the control document in electronic format is mandatory for the public transport of goods by road on national territory. However, its specific application depends on the type of transport, the goods and the operating model.

The affected transports are:

• All public transport of goods by road within Spain.
• Applies to both full loads and groupage.

Regulatory exemptions

There are some situations in which it is not mandatory:

• Moving transportation.
• Crane services.
• Low volume and easily handled goods.

In the latter case, it is usually interpreted that goods on a pallet are no longer considered to be easily handled, and will therefore normally require a control document.

How it affects international transport

The regulation does not modify what has already been established:

• In international transport, the documents defined in the agreements signed by Spain (such as the CMR) are used.
• During transit through national territory, it is interpreted that an electronic control document must also exist, even if the transport is international.

Shipments by parcels (parcels)

In this case, the regulations mainly affect primary transport:

• If applicable: transportation from the warehouse of origin to the logistics hub of the parcel company.
• Normally not applicable: the last mile, as it usually involves small-volume goods.

Intermodal transportation

The mandatory use of the digital control document will depend on the road section:

• Yes applies: for road journeys within Spain (e.g. from the warehouse to the port or terminal).
• There may be a single document: in models such as ro-ro or rail freeways, where transportation is considered a single process.

Which documents can be used

The regulations require an electronic control document or DeCA, but do not impose a specific format. They can be used:

• Consignment note
• eCMR
• Delivery note
• Stowage document
• Other equivalent documents

If the document requires a signature, an advanced digital signature must be used, guaranteeing its legal, administrative and evidentiary validity.

Mistakes to avoid for the successful implementation of the Electronic Transport Document

The success of the digital transformation of road transport depends on several factors that must be taken into account: level of security, advanced electronic signature, flexibility, change management…

During the webinar, errors or reflections to be taken into account before implementing a transport document digitalization solution were exposed:

Mistake 1: “Our corporate digital signature is enough”.

A common mistake is to believe that a corporate digital signature solution is enough to comply with regulations. Although these tools work well for signing contracts from an office, they are not designed for real transport operations, where multiple actors are involved: regular carriers, suppliers, or drivers who do not always have prior information.

Therefore, the digitization of the control document requires specific solutions for the transport sector, adapted to its operations and aligned with the requirements set by the regulations.

Mistake 2: “We implement a minimal solution and then we’ll see”.

Another common failure is to go for basic solutions just to meet the immediate regulatory obligation.

While the focus is currently on the digital control document, companies must prepare for future regulations and regulatory developments, such as the eFTI Regulation or the new amendment to the ROTT.

Opting for limited tools may mean that, in a few years, it will be necessary to repeat the entire implementation and change management process, replacing the technology used again.

It is therefore more efficient to choose a solution from the outset that is prepared to evolve in the medium and long term.

Mistake 3: “All solutions are the same, I just need to know the price”.

Document digitization should not only be understood as an expense or a regulatory obligation, but as an opportunity to improve processes, gain efficiency and obtain operational and financial returns.

Beyond legal compliance, an appropriate solution can streamline administrative tasks, optimize document management and speed up processes such as VAT recovery in intra-community operations. In companies with large transport volumes, the economic and operational impact can be very significant.

Therefore, before deciding solely on price, it is important to evaluate aspects such as integration capacity, process automation, platform scalability and the return that can be generated in the medium and long term.

Misconception 4: “Interoperability will be solved by eFTI”.

There is a misconception that the eFTI regulation will automatically ensure interoperability between technology platforms.

In reality, eFTI focuses on communication between companies and public administrations, but does not directly regulate the exchange between private solutions.

It is therefore essential that technology platforms work together to ensure interoperability between shippers, logistics operators and carriers, even when they use different systems.

In fact, there is already an interoperability initiative at European level in which FIELDEAS is actively participating alongside other platforms, in line with our goal of facilitating and simplifying digital transformation for supply chain companies.

Change management and CAFS methodology

Another aspect analyzed during the webinar is that the digitization of transport documents is not so much a technological challenge, but a major human and organizational challenge.

Unlike other internal processes, transportation involves multiple actors in a particularly complex logistics chain.

Therefore, in addition to ensuring flexibility and legal validity, it is essential to develop a solid change management strategy.

In this sense, at FIELDEAS we work with the CAFS methodology, based on four key phases to facilitate the adoption of new digital processes: Communicate, Assist, Train, Supervise.

In short, the key to success in the digitization of road freight transport lies in opting for a strategy of efficiency and digitizing the entire document ecosystem, always hand in hand with a partner that guarantees flexibility, security and support.