Russia goes for e-CMR Convention, stepping closer to fully digital transport operations with the use of electronic consignment notes.
Russia’s plan to switch to e-CMR is a clear sign of its focus on streamlining its trade and transport capabilities as it gears up for neighbouring China’s One Belt One Road initiative to boost trade across the region.
The decision highlights the advantages of digital consignment notes with reductions in costs via faster and more transparent data input and exchange. The Ministry of Transport has expressed interest in working together with IRU on the practical implementation of the system with possible upcoming trials.
Umberto de Pretto, IRU Secretary General, says,
“Russia is leading the way in taking transport into the future and we congratulate the Ministry of Transport on this positive outcome. Russia’s accession to e-CMR will encourage other countries in the region to join, as the mutual benefits become increasingly tangible with the number of e-CMR countries on the rise.”
The use of e-CMR is the first step towards the inevitable shift towards entirely paperless operations – including through the use of digital customs transit systems such as TIR – to establish the critical digital infrastructure for innovations like driverless trucks.
Russian transport operators, consignors and consignees, and freight forwarders look forward to profiting from this innovation, which will improve their competitiveness on the international market.
The accession to the e-CMR protocol was confirmed this week in a Russian governmental decree, which officially notifies the UN Secretary General of the decision.
