Gruber Logistics Successfully Completes eCMR Test

Since the end of last month, logistics in Italy has been using the electronic consignment note (eCMR). This Southern European country recognized the necessary additional protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road in its parliament this summer.

(Auer/Padua) The renowned logistics service provider Gruber Logistics, headquartered in South Tyrol, participated in a successful test of the application just days before the eCMR came into effect on September 26. A shipment of pharmaceuticals destined for Turkey was carried out legally using electronic documentation from Gruber Logistics’ warehouse in Padua to the port in Trieste.

The success of this trial transport was based on close collaboration among the involved companies, associations, organizations, and government agencies. In addition to the Gruber Logistics team in Trieste, this included the Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mare Adriatico Orientale, the local port authority at that port, as well as the country’s financial and customs authorities, plus companies like Infoera and Accudire. All shipment data could be tracked in real time, and due to the collaboration of all IT systems, known as interoperability, the electronic documentation of the processes was successfully ensured.

Martin Gruber, CEO of Gruber Logistics, who has been involved in the development of the electronic consignment note and its introduction to the Italian market for many years, emphasizes the importance of the approach behind the eCMR introduction to bring more movement into the digitization of the logistics industry. “The port in Trieste has already come a long way in its development in this regard. However, we believe that the introduction and use of the eCMR can paradoxically offer further advantages in situations where the IT standard still has room for improvement. For example, it could serve as a pre-announcement of an anticipated shipment in ports that are not yet as advanced. This could optimize logistical processes, for instance, through greater transparency due to improved tracking of specific cargo.”

Need for Improvement in Resilience

Furthermore, the CEO of the innovative family business points out that “our industry, in general, as recently highlighted by some global supply chain disruptions, still has room for improvement in terms of resilience, and specifically, must become bolder in terms of innovation. For more efficient supply chain management, which benefits from a powerful eCMR, its application must be made mandatory in the future. Only then can an IT ecosystem with the necessary data interfaces across company and then also country borders emerge, which, thanks to a smoother and thus faster, paperless flow of information, also enables quicker goods flows.”

Photo: © Gruber