OLF-eCMR Toolbox
Signature solutions & driver experience
Deep Dive
Reducing complexity: Seal instead of signature
The eSEAL included in the OLF-eCMR Toolbox simplifies the practical introduction of the eCMR. The electronic seal provides legal certainty without burdening companies or drivers with complex administration.
International transport networks often involve dozens of companies and thousands of people working together along the transport chain. If every individual were to use their own electronic signature, companies would have to manage, process and verify a large number of certificates – their own as well as their business partners.
The electronic seal significantly reduces this effort. Instead of thousands of personal signatures, each company uses exactly one central electronic seal, which can be integrated into the existing corporate IT system. At the same time, the individual performing the action remains identifiable, while the signing process becomes significantly simpler, more scalable, and more practical.
Legal classification
Electronic seals are used by legal entities (i.e. companies) and replace individual personal signatures.
The electronic seal legally attributes a document to the company rather than to an individual, comparable to a company stamp.
The Open Logistics Foundation’s open solution uses advanced electronic seals. These meet the legal requirements of the eCMR Additional Protocol and the eIDAS Regulation
The use of eSEALS is mandatory.
Deep Dive: The legal validity of digital transport documents
eSEAL structure
From a technical perspective, an eSEAL consists of a header and a payload (sealed document). While the header contains the technical information required for validation, the payload contains the business content of the sealed document.
Header
The header contains the technical information required to verify and validate the electronic seal. This includes:
- Algorithm – the cryptographic method used to create the eSEAL
- Certificate information – information about the certificate used for the eSEAL
- Public key (X.509) – the public key, including the associated certificate data, which is used to verify the authenticity of the seal.
Payload (Sealed Document)
The payload contains the business information protected by the eSEAL. This includes:
- Seal metadata – the sealing person, role (sender, carrier, or consignee), and timestamp of the sealing.
- eCMR – the electronic consignment note, together with the associated transport and shipment information
By sealing the payload and linking it with the verification and certificate information, contained in the header, the eSEAL provides verifiable proof of origin as well as verification of the integrity and traceability of the transport documents throughout the entire transport process.
eSEAL chain
The eSEAL chain links the electronic seals of all participating companies into a continuous chain of trust. This makes it possible to trace the origin, integrity and sequence of all processing steps throughout the entire data exchange.
Each participant applies its own electronic seal (eSEAL) to the information received, thereby confirming the authenticity and integrity of the data available up to that point. The process is as follows:
1. eSEAL Sender
The sender applies its eSEAL to the information required for processing the message (header) and to the information relating to the actual transport object (e.g. events).
2. eSEAL Carrier
The carrier takes over the sender’s already sealed header and payload, adds its own information, and also applies its eSEAL – comprising the sender’s data together with its own header and payload data – to the entire package.
3. eSEAL Consignee
The consignee receives the complete, already sealed data chain. Where applicable, it adds its own information and again applies its own eSEAL to the entire data set, including all previous headers, payloads and eSEALs.
This hierarchical chaining of eSEALs creates an uninterrupted chain of trust. Each party confirms the integrity of the information received from the previous party, thereby creating a fully traceable history of all participating parties and data changes.
Information flow
All transport data defined in the eCMR data model can be exchanged securely, easily and transparently between all participating parties, regardless of whether they are senders, carriers or consignees.
All relevant parties are provided with targeted access to the information they require for their respective process step.
Drivers and external parties can use the eCMR either via their own platform or via a directly integrated driver app.
Where this is not possible, guest access via the web browser of a mobile device is available as an alternative. Drivers and external partners can access this, for example, via a link or QR code. No user account is required.
Particularly in international road freight transport, the digital availability of transport and shipment data is increasingly important. For example, enforcement authorities expect the required information to be electronically accessible during inspections. Operational requirements may therefore specify that an appropriate device must be carried to ensure access to digital transport documents at all times
Get in touch
Jens Leveling
Technology Advisor
+49 (0) 231 70096 503
Dr. David Saive, LL.M.
Legal Product Owner
+49 (0) 231 70096 503
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