Luxembourg OKs first digital road-feeder consignment between LUX, AMS

The Luxembourg government has signed off on the first electronic consignment note (CMR) for road transportation operated by Arthur Welter trucking on behalf of CargoLux Airlines. The trucking service will run between Luxembourg (LUX) and Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) airports.

Arthur Welter described the paper-free practice, saying that transport orders are received from customers digitally, forwarded to the driver and then stored in a central database. The cosigner, consignees and driver are all able to use smart devices to sign the documents.

Luxembourg’s Secretary of State of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, Camille Gira, who signed the first CMR yesterday on behalf of Cargolux during “Supply Chain Day” at LUX. At the ceremony, Gira said, use of “e-CMR”  by logistics companies and their customers “can significantly reduce administrative and environmental costs.”

The use of e-CMR for road transportation was authorized by the state in March after adopting digital protocols from the United States Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), an organization that promotes United Nations standards for conducting trade, advocating for “pan-European economic integration.”

Gira added that, upon implementing CMRs, the European Union could see an efficiency gain of up to €1.8 million, based on an estimated savings of €4.5 per transaction.