Glossary
CMR
A CMR is the standard international consignment note for road freight, governed by the CMR Convention, that serves as the contract of carriage and proof that goods were received and delivered.
The CMR (from the French "Convention relative au contrat de transport international de marchandises par route") accompanies international road shipments across most of Europe. It records the sender, consignee, carrier, goods, and conditions of carriage, and is signed at pickup and delivery as evidence the transport took place.
A TMS can auto-generate CMR documents from the transport order data, pre-populating sender, consignee, and goods details — reducing paperwork and errors at the loading dock.
Frequently asked questions
Is a CMR mandatory?
For international road carriage between countries that are party to the CMR Convention, a consignment note is the standard instrument governing the contract of carriage. While carriage remains valid even if the note is missing or incorrect, in practice a CMR is used on virtually every international road shipment.
Can I generate a CMR online?
Yes. Transportial offers a free CMR generator, and the platform can auto-populate CMR documents directly from a transport order.
See CMR in a real TMS
Transportial puts these concepts to work in one operational platform — planning, tracking, documents, and finance.