Available in pilot Digital freight documents for European road freight

Born digital.
Stays digital.

Every handover still turns your data into paper and back again. CargoOwl keeps one digital record of each transport, from pickup to signed proof of delivery, shared by everyone on the load.

Built for
e-CMR Protocol 2008 EU 2020/1056 · eFTI eIDAS e-signatures
● Position at handover · 14:32
✎ Driver signed remotely
⤓ QR link for authorities
The paper round-trip

Every switch to paper and back is work someone does by hand.

Freight has run on paper for decades. Each switch causes errors and needs another tool, or another phone call, just to know who has the load.

Today, on every load

The same data is handled again at each handover.

  1. DIGITALThe order is in your TMS or ERP
  2. PAPERThe CMR is printed in triplicate
  3. PAPERSigned by hand at pickup, carried in the cab
  4. PAPER"Where is it?" is a phone call to the carrier
  5. PAPERSigned at delivery, posted or scanned back
  6. DIGITALSomeone re-keys it into another system

4 switches · 3 copies · 1 re-key per party

With CargoOwl

One digital record, from the first draft to proof of delivery.

  1. DIGITALCreate the digital freight document in the portal or from your system through the API
  2. DIGITALThe driver checks the goods and signs on their phone at pickup
  3. DIGITALEvery handover is on the record: who holds the load, and since when
  4. DIGITALThe consignee signs on delivery; signed proof is on the record at once
  5. DIGITALYour systems receive it through webhooks, with no re-keying

0 switches · 1 shared record · position and estimated arrival during the journey: On the roadmap

Speaking the language of every party in the corridor
Shippers Hauliers Freight forwarders 3PLs & 4PLs Customs & police
What each round-trip costs

Paper quietly drains margin from every load.

The CMR consignment note has barely changed since 1956. Printed in triplicate, signed by hand, lost in cabs, and re-keyed three times — paper quietly drains margin from every load.

€4–6/doc

Hidden handling cost

Printing, scanning, postage, archiving and chasing missing pages add up across thousands of loads a year.

5–10days

Slower cash flow

Invoices wait on the signed proof of delivery coming back by post — delaying payment and tying up working capital.

1 in 20loads

Disputes & damages

Illegible reservations and missing signatures turn into claims no one can resolve from a coffee-stained page.

The delay and dispute figures above are illustrative.

The digital freight document

The same legal document — born digital.

An eCMR is the electronic version of the CMR waybill that accompanies international road freight. Backed by the 2008 e-CMR Protocol to the CMR Convention, it carries exactly the same legal weight as paper — but it is created, signed and exchanged entirely online.

01

Legally equivalent

Recognised under the CMR Convention & its e-CMR Protocol — admissible proof of the contract of carriage and of delivery.

02

Signed anywhere

Sender, carrier and consignee sign on a phone or tablet with secure e-signatures — no printer, no pen, no posting.

03

Shared and verifiable

One record every party sees, with timestamps, position at handover and a full, tamper-evident audit trail.

Paper CMRCargoOwl eCMR
Printed in triplicate
→
✓ One shared digital record
Hand-signed & posted back
→
✓ Signed remotely in seconds
Re-keyed into 3 systems
→
✓ Reaches your TMS through our API
Lost in the cab
→
✓ Always findable, instantly
Reservations illegible
→
✓ Photos & notes at the dock
How it works

From first draft to proof of delivery in four steps.

CargoOwl follows the load. Each party plays their part on the same record — and the moment it is delivered, everyone already has the proof.

01

Create

The shipper or forwarder drafts the eCMR or DeCA in the portal, or creates it from their own system through the API.

02

Load & sign

At pickup the driver checks the goods, records reservations or damage, and signs on the spot.

03

Follow

Every party with an account follows each status change on the same record. Authorities verify the document from its QR link.

04

Deliver & prove

The consignee signs on delivery, on their own phone. Signed proof of delivery is on the record at once.

Why now

eFTI makes digital freight information unavoidable.

The EU's eFTI Regulation (2020/1056) requires authorities across the Union to accept freight information electronically. CargoOwl is built around the eFTI data model from day one — so when enforcement begins, your operation is already there.

  • ✓eFTI data set, natively. We structure consignment data to the common European model, not a proprietary format.
  • ✓Authority access on demand. Share a verifiable record with customs or roadside enforcement in seconds.
  • ✓eIDAS e-signatures. Simple electronic signatures verified by one-time code, with a SHA-256 integrity hash and a complete audit trail.
  • ✓Hosted in the EU. The platform and the documents it issues run on EU infrastructure.
eFTI

Compliance, decoded

What each acronym means for your fleet

  • ▸CMR Convention (1956) — the treaty governing the contract for international road carriage.
  • ▸e-CMR Protocol (2008) — makes the electronic consignment note legally equal to paper.
  • ▸eFTI · EU 2020/1056 — obliges authorities to accept digital freight information.
  • ▸eIDAS · EU 910/2014 — the framework for legally valid electronic signatures.
Start from your role

Whether you ship it, haul it or organise it, stay digital.

Proof of delivery arrives by post, and every status check is a phone call.

Proof on arrival

Signed proof of delivery the moment the consignee signs.

Who holds it, since when

Every handover lands on one shared record, without a phone call to the carrier.

No re-keying

Consignment data reaches your ERP and TMS through our REST API and webhooks.

Evidence on file

Photos, reservations, position and timestamps recorded on the transport back your side in a dispute.

Shipper outcome

Stop chasing paper PODs.

Replace the wait for posted proof of delivery with an audit-ready record the moment the consignee signs.

“We stopped chasing paper PODs entirely.”
— Illustrative outcome · logistics director, FMCG shipper

Drivers carry paper notes back to the office, and someone re-keys every one.

Less admin per trip

Drivers sign on their phone — no printing, no scanning, no envelopes back to the office.

Roadside-ready

Show enforcement a verifiable digital freight document through its QR link — no rummaging through the glovebox.

Protect your margin

Cut the €4–6 hidden cost of handling each paper note across your whole fleet.

Get paid faster

Signed proof of delivery is on the record the moment the consignee signs, so you bill without waiting for paper to come back.

Carrier outcome

Turn the truck around, not the paperwork.

Every signature captured digitally is one fewer document to print, post, file and eventually lose.

“Drivers love it. The back office got an afternoon back, every single day.”
— Illustrative outcome · operations manager, regional haulier

Every customer, carrier and subcontractor keeps a different copy of the same transport.

Work for your customers

As a 3PL or 4PL, act for your customers on their transports, within the scope and expiry each delegation sets.

One managed network

Keep your customers and carriers in one network you maintain, with duplicates flagged before they spread.

Digital freight documents for road legs

Issue legally valid digital freight documents (eCMR, DeCA) for the road legs you organise; other modes are recorded on the same consignment.

Your system in the loop

Create transports from your own system through the REST API, and receive webhooks for road-transport events.

Forwarder, 3PL & 4PL outcome

One record for every party you coordinate.

Customers, carriers and subcontractors work from the same transport instead of forwarded PDFs.

“We stopped forwarding PDFs between customers and carriers.”
— Illustrative outcome · operations lead, freight forwarder

On the roadmap Position and estimated arrival during the journey, contracts and pricing in one place, and AI analysis of your own data.

Limited places

Run a few of your real lanes fully digital, free.

We observe how those lanes run today, agree with you the one number that matters to you, run them end to end on CargoOwl, and report what changed.

  1. 1
    Observe. We map your current paper process on the chosen lanes.
  2. 2
    Agree the metric. Time, money or another measure that fits your operation.
  3. 3
    Run it end to end. From the first draft to signed proof of delivery.
  4. 4
    Get the report. Your metric, measured on your own lanes.
See CargoOwl on your freight

Ready to stay digital?

Book a 30-minute walkthrough. We'll map a real corridor of yours onto CargoOwl and show a digital freight document signed end to end: sender, carrier, consignee, authority.