The CMR consignment note (vrachtbrief) is the document behind every international road shipment: it's the contract of carriage and the proof that the goods were received in good order. The eCMR is its electronic equivalent, created, signed and exchanged digitally instead of as a three-part paper form. Nexport Logistics arranges your road legs through the Nexportal platform, where the consignment-note data lives alongside the rest of the shipment.
The legal basis
The CMR Convention (Geneva, 1956) governs the contract for international carriage of goods by road and requires a consignment note. The Additional Protocol to the CMR concerning the electronic consignment note (the e-CMR Protocol) was opened in 2008 and entered into force on 5 June 2011. Its effect (Article 2): an electronic consignment note that complies with the Protocol is equivalent to the paper CMR note, with the same evidentiary value and legal effects. Article 3 requires a reliable electronic signature.
The Netherlands is a contracting party, as are a growing number of European states (Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Hungary and others have joined). The Protocol only applies where both countries involved are parties.
What the eCMR does in practice
- Digital consignment note, issued and signed electronically by sender, carrier and consignee.
- Real-time data: pick-up and delivery confirmations and proof of delivery (POD) captured the moment they happen, not on a paper copy returned days later.
- Fewer disputes, thanks to timestamped, tamper-evident records of who handed over what, where and when.
- Faster admin. No scanning, no archiving boxes of paper notes, instant POD for invoicing.
eCMR vs. eFTI: don't confuse them
These two are often mentioned together but do different jobs:
- eCMR = an international treaty (UN/UNECE). It governs the legal validity of the consignment note for international road carriage between Protocol countries. Optional, document-specific.
- Efti = an EU regulation. It doesn't create any document; it obliges public authorities to accept electronic freight information (across road, rail, inland waterway and air) when offered via certified platforms, from 9 July 2027.
The split: eCMR makes the digital note legally valid, eFTI makes authorities accept digital freight data.
Netherlands status
The vrachtbrief is mandatory under the Wet wegvervoer goederen. As the Netherlands is party to the e-CMR Protocol, a digital waybill carries the same legal standing as paper. Sharing freight data digitally is voluntary today, but the direction, reinforced by eFTI, is firmly toward digital.
How Nexport Logistics handles it
We arrange the road transport on your sea and air shipments and as standalone road freight, with the consignment-note data captured in Nexportal. We move with the market toward eCMR as the standard, which gets you clean PODs and less paper.
Need a road leg arranged? Email info@nexportlogistics.nl.
Official sources: UNECE — e-CMR Additional Protocol (PDF) · UN Treaty Collection — status XI-B-11-b · ILT — Vrachtbrief. Related: Efti · Road · Shipping Documents