Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan have joined the e-CMR protocol
Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan have joined the e-CMR protocol (electronic version of the consignment note), reports the press service of the International Road Transport Union.
The accession of two countries at the center of regional trade to e-CMR will contribute to the further digitalization of freight transport.
“The use of e-CMR will help Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan manage the growing flow of goods and transit along changing routes more effectively. In addition, e-CMR will reduce handling costs, administrative delays and billing difficulties. The protocol will also improve the transparency and security of the entire supply chain by providing more accurate shipment tracking data with real-time access to pickup and delivery information. Given that the e-CMR is a digital document, transport companies can easily integrate it with other services”, the IRU said in a statement.
Main advantages of e-CMR:
• Cost reduction
• 3-4x reduction in processing costs
• Speed up administrative work (less data entry, no paperwork, no archival work, no need for faxes/copies/letters, etc.)
• Expedited billing
• Reducing the incidence of non-conformities in shipping and receiving
Increasing transparency
• Data accuracy
• Shipment control and tracking
• Access to information and confirmation of receipt and delivery in real time
Paper waybills CMR have a number of advantages: they unify the contractual terms of road freight and contribute to the process of transporting goods in general. The global e-CMR solution delivers all of these benefits while eliminating paperwork and processing costs, bringing the system to the state of the art. Therefore, the IRU is helping its member national associations, as well as the industry in general, to implement electronic waybills (e-CMR).
Thanks to the digital format, e-CMRs are also easily integrated with other services used by transport companies, such as customs declaration or transport and fleet management services. With the transition to electronic waybills, all three parties involved in the process of freight transportation benefit from improved efficiency of logistics processes in general, which will lead to increased competitiveness.
The protocol to the UN Convention on the Carriage of Goods (CMR Convention) on electronic management of CMR, which has been in force since 2008, has been ratified by 34 countries to date.
The Law “On Accession to the Additional Protocol to the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR) Concerning the Electronic Waybill” was issued in Turkmenistan in November 2022. The law was approved at the eighth session of the Halk Maslahaty chamber on November 19. Accession to the Additional Protocol strengthens the role of Turkmenistan in the global transport and logistics sector, opening up promising opportunities for the country's trade and economic development.
