During the last months of 2021, the eCMR indexing prototype was validated and tested. It allows the partners to deduct that digitalisation of road transport documentation can be reached via implementation of eCMR service providers’ and national indexing platform cooperation in the way the prototype application takes place.
eCMR indexing prototype testing was based on works done within the DIGINNO-Proto project in 2020. This year, a number of upgrades were made to the prototype allowing both the business users and competent authority representatives to grasp the concept of indexing in a smoother course, allowing both uploads of data and query of data to be made in a more informative way.
The testing was supported by creating of the logic and partner cooperation for smoother upload process of CMRs for business users via user interface or API, the introduction of an eCMR XML preferred file type and support of integration of that file as well as the support of competent authority representatives in their testing activities.
The coordination of rides and active live testing alongside coordinated tracking and on-site checks of selected rides was arranged in cooperation with Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Polish relevant boards.
Course of testing
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland participated in the active testing. Kaliningrad region (Russia) participated in making their rides available for queries. Denmark, Sweden, Benelux countries’ businesses served as observers. The prototype nodes were established and testing deployed as well as prototype promoted and tested by European Commission DG MOVE representatives.
In total, 36 rides with more than 50 CMRs were uploaded to the system during late November and December, whilst a quarter of those documents were XML files meeting the requirements of machine-to-machine data exchange for the prototype.
Among the tested functionalities within the prototype upgrade were:
Data exchange model upgrade via improved API and machine-to-machine functionalities,
Improved user interface for businesses for direct upload, the addition of permissions and search functions,
Improved query functionalities for competent authorities allowing on-screen view of XML files and validation of file type, document history view with sorting functionalities and quick view of user certificates,
User access and authentication tools improvement and setup upgrade as well as a creation of a set of testing accounts,
Data standard introduction to those engaged UN/CEFACT MMT eCMR subset (eCMR version 1.0 whereas also considered valid).
What did we learn?
Competent authorities' feedback on both remote and live testing was welcoming - officers see high value in the fact that active CMR datasets can indeed be made available across borders and queries can be made over CMR documentation of foreign trucks. And most importantly, those documents can be reviewed without stopping the truck on the road.
The participating logistics businesses and cargo owners both see a value in document visibility and acceptance of digital documents by public authorities. Such acceptance would not only diminish the possibility of trucks being stopped for inspection with impact on the schedules and arrival times but mainly on further operations and reporting based on CMRs being possible to be done seamlessly without handling paper-based scanned papers.
The participating eCMR service providers welcome the prototype and the developments as it strengthens their business outlooks if the eCMRs would be possible to be used more widely and in a more standardised way than only for a single customer-partner business flow within one business service.
The public authorities and ministries governing the national process of digitalisation and preparation towards the implementation of eFTI Regulation welcomed the prototype and the testing (both business and stakeholder cooperation as well as live testing with rides) as an opportunity to project and analyse which types of IT systems would be needed and which business processes have to be encouraged.
See more from:
RTE conference presentation
The introductory videos
Article by Ulrika Hurt, eCMR indexing prototype concept and testing coordinator