eFTI-ready The digital consignment note for European road freight

Retire the paper waybill.
See every shipment clearly.

CargoOwl turns the CMR consignment note into a legally valid eCMR — signed, shared and verified in seconds. Less paperwork, fewer disputes, faster payment, and one source of truth from loading dock to delivery.

Built for
e-CMR Protocol 2008 EU 2020/1056 · eFTI eIDAS e-signatures
GPS handover · 14:32
Driver signed remotely
Shared with authority
Speaking the language of every party in the corridor
Shippers Hauliers Freight forwarders 3PLs & 4PLs Customs & police TMS & ERP
The cost of paper

Every truck still carries a 1950s document.

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.

What is an eCMR?

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

Live and shared

One record everyone sees in real time, with timestamps, location 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
Flows straight into your TMS
Lost in the cab
Always findable, instantly
Reservations illegible
Photos & notes at the dock
How it works

From order 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 it lands automatically from the TMS via API.

02

Load & sign

At pickup the driver checks goods, adds photos and reservations, and signs on the spot.

03

Track

Everyone follows status and location live. Authorities can verify the document roadside in a tap.

04

Deliver & settle

The consignee signs on delivery. Signed proof is instant — so the invoice can go out the same day.

eFTI-ready

Compliant with the regulation, before the deadline.

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. Qualified, tamper-evident signatures with a complete audit trail.
  • Sovereign, secure hosting. EU data residency, encryption at rest and in transit, GDPR by design.
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.
Built for both sides of the load

Whether you send it or you haul it.

Get paid faster

Signed proof of delivery the instant goods arrive — invoices go out same-day.

Total visibility

Live status on every consignment, without a phone call to the carrier.

No re-keying

Consignment data flows straight into your ERP and TMS through our API.

Fewer disputes

Photos, reservations and timestamps captured at the dock settle claims fast.

Shipper outcome

Close the books days sooner.

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

“We stopped chasing paper PODs entirely. Cash comes in a week earlier.”
— Illustrative outcome · logistics director, FMCG shipper

Less admin per trip

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

Roadside-ready

Show a verifiable eCMR to enforcement in a tap — no rummaging through the glovebox.

Protect your margin

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

Driver-friendly

A clear, offline-capable app drivers actually use — works in any cab, any signal.

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
Savings calculator

See what paper is costing you.

Drag the sliders to your operation. The numbers below are an illustrative estimate — we'll build a precise model with you.

2,000
€5.00
8 min
6 days
Estimated annual upside
186,000
in handling cost & reclaimed admin time, every year
Paper handling avoided€120,000
Admin time reclaimed€66,000
Working capital freed up€36,000

* Illustrative model. Admin valued at €25/hr; capital at 6% on faster-collected receivables. Your figures will vary.

90%
Less document handling time per load
<10s
To sign and share a consignment note
1
Source of truth for every party
100%
eFTI & e-CMR aligned, by design
See CargoOwl on your freight

Ready to put the paper down?

Book a 30-minute walkthrough. We'll map a real corridor of yours onto CargoOwl and show the eCMR signed end to end — sender, carrier, consignee, authority.