At IRU and TransFollow’s eCMR webinar, industry experts discussed how digitalisation is improving operational efficiency, while uneven adoption, customer readiness and interoperability challenges remain as Europe prepares for eFTI.
Spain's mandatory digital freight documentation requirements have exposed significant differences in industry readiness.
Despite these challenges, IRU and TransFollow’s webinar highlighted the benefits of digitalisation and the importance of preparing for upcoming regulatory changes across Europe.
The speakers examined the introduction of Spain's electronic administrative control document (DeCA) and preparations for the European Union's Electronic Freight Transport Information (eFTI) Regulation.
Moderated by IRU Senior Strategy and Development Director Vincent Erard, the webinar featured Alexis Perinet-Marquet (Managing Director, TransFollow), Carlos Gallo (Country Manager Spain, TransFollow), Mehdi Abdellaoui (Senior Specialist, Supply Chain Systems Engineering, Toyota), Ramon Valdivia (Executive Vice President, ASTIC), Rafael Jurado (South and Canary Islands Logistic Manager, Votorantim Cimentos) and Teddy Danet (Group Chief Information Officer, Jacky Perrenot).
Long-term digitalisation benefits should be the priority
A poll of attendees revealed that 40% still relied exclusively on paper transport documents, while 24% were piloting digital solutions, 20% had introduced them on selected operations, and 16% were mostly digital.
"Spain's new legislation represents an important step forward for freight digitalisation, requiring businesses to reconsider how they manage and exchange transport documentation," said Carlos Gallo.
"While compliance with DeCA is the immediate priority, businesses should also be considering the longer-term opportunities that digitalisation presents, from reducing administrative workloads to improving collaboration across supply chains,” he added.
Ramón Valdivia reported that 64% of ASTIC’s surveyed members had systems capable of generating the required QR codes, but many customers are not ready for the transition.
"We strongly believe in digitalisation, as our history demonstrates, but we believe companies should embrace it due to its advantages, not simply because governments make it compulsory," said Ramon Valdivia.
Ramón Valdivia warned that compliance alone would represent a missed opportunity, arguing that the greatest commercial benefits would come from digitalising relationships between transport companies and their customers.
IRU member ASTIC's survey also found that 42% of respondents reported no difficulties using electronic documents on domestic journeys, while 24% reported that more than half of their journeys had not complied with the new digital requirement during the initial fortnight.
Experiences from those who already went digital
Teddy Danet explained that the transport and logistics group, which operates more than 6,000 vehicles across eight countries, had begun implementing digital documentation before regulatory deadlines required it.
"When the authorities set a deadline, it pushes the whole ecosystem forward," said Teddy Danet. “The transition is shorter, and that is better, because we avoid living for a long time with mixed solutions, some on paper, some digital, that are not always compatible."
Teddy Danet emphasised the importance of providing drivers with a single application capable of accommodating different customer requirements, rather than introducing separate systems for individual shippers.
Rafael Jurado Hornero reported generating approximately 1,300 electronic consignment notes in a single day across its Spanish operations.
Mehdi Abdellaoui explained that digital freight documentation formed part of the manufacturer's wider efforts to eliminate unnecessary administrative processes and improve information sharing between supply chain partners.
“Within Toyota, digitalisation is not an objective on its own," said Mehdi Abdellaoui. “The objective is to have a better, leaner process. With the current paper process, we have a lot of non-value-added activities, such as scanning, archiving, and retrieving documents.”
Mehdi Abdellaoui added that interoperability between different systems remained essential to ensuring that shippers, carriers, and receiving parties could access the same information without introducing additional administrative burdens.
Regulatory developments accelerating digitalisation
The discussion then turned to eFTI, under which EU national authorities will be required to accept qualifying electronic freight transport information from 9 July 2027.
“Spain is demonstrating how regulatory developments can accelerate the transition towards digital freight operations, but the benefits of digitalisation extend well beyond meeting individual national requirements," said Alexis Périnet-Marquet.
“With eFTI approaching, businesses across Europe have an opportunity to invest in interoperable digital solutions that improve efficiency, strengthen collaboration, and prepare them for future regulatory requirements,” he added.
This article was first published by IRU Strategic Partner TransFollow.