e-CMR with returnable asset tracking
Sign the e-CMR on the phone at the handover and update asset custody in the same step. How Rotion links digital consignment notes to crates, pallets and cages.
Last updated: 2 October 2026
Rotion replaces the paper consignment note with an e-CMR signed on the phone at the handover. The returnable assets on the note, full and empty, update custody in the same step, so the transport document and the asset record always agree. Disputes about what was delivered or collected start from one signed record instead of a stack of paper.
What is an e-CMR?
An e-CMR is the electronic version of the CMR consignment note, the transport document used for goods carried by road between countries. It records the sender, the carrier, the receiver, the goods and the signatures at pickup and delivery. Paper CMRs are filled in by hand, travel with the driver, and are often the only proof of which crates, pallets or cages changed hands.
Why combine the e-CMR with asset tracking?
On paper, the consignment note and the asset balance live apart. The note says 24 pallets were delivered; the asset system, if there is one, gets that number later from someone typing it in. Every gap between the two becomes a dispute about who holds what.
In Rotion they are one step. When the driver and the receiver sign the e-CMR, the assets on it move to the receiver's custody, and empties collected on the same visit move back. The balance per partner is current the moment the signature lands.
How does an e-CMR handover work in Rotion?
- The shipment is created from the order, with the assets expected to go out and come back.
- At the handover, the driver opens the e-CMR in the Rotion app.
- Assets are confirmed by scan, by count, or as listed on the order.
- The driver and the receiver sign on the phone, with remarks or photos for damage or shortages.
- Rotion stores the signed e-CMR, updates custody, and flags any difference between expected and confirmed as an exception.
The signed document is available to the sender, the carrier and the receiver, and can be exported for your own records.
What happens when the delivery does not match?
A shortage, a surplus or damaged assets are noted on the e-CMR before signing, with a photo where it helps. Rotion turns the difference into an exception on the partner's balance, so the follow-up (a pickup task, a charge, a correction) starts from a document both sides signed. See how deposit management works for how charges follow from balances.
Still on paper CMRs?
Geofencing for returnable assets
Draw zones around depots, customers and partner sites. Rotion records when tracked assets enter, leave or linger, and starts the follow-up automatically.
Customer QR codes for pickups and reorders
Customers scan the QR code on an empty keg, crate or container to request a pickup or reorder, in the browser without an app. Rotion creates the task.