How a Transport Company Cut Time Spent on CMR Documents and Route Planning

Industry: Company managing its own fleet and freight forwarding operations

Who it is for: Transport manager and dispatcher team

Area: Logistics

See it on video

A step-by-step walk through the module — the same screens this write-up describes.

What is in the recording

0:00End of document chaos
0:05The dispatcher's new command center
0:16CMR document automation
0:48Route planning on a chart
2:02Fleet and driver management
2:23Quality audit and security
2:46Take control of transport

The Challenge

By centralizing data and automating CMR documents, the transport team reclaims time and gains full control over the fleet and costs.

Before implementation, dispatchers manually filled out shipping documents (CMR) and orders, which was time-consuming and error-prone. There was no single place for route planning, and tracking fleet insurance deadlines, vehicle inspections, and driver license validity was done across scattered spreadsheets.

Key challenges:

Dispatchers manually filled out shipping documents (CMR) and orders, which was time-consuming and generated errors.
There was no single place for route planning, and tracking fleet insurance deadlines, vehicle inspections, and driver license validity was done across scattered spreadsheets.

Business impact: Transport managers, dispatchers, and freight company owners who waste time manually filling out documents and planning across scattered spreadsheets.

The Solution Process

The Transport module was implemented in ProcessApp, centralizing order management and enabling automatic document generation.

A route calendar in Gantt chart format was launched, along with fleet and cost records and an audit mechanism to verify the accuracy of entered data.

The transport document workflow was analyzed and the route planning process was mapped.

Fleet, driver, and external carrier data was then migrated into a single database, with the system configured for dispatchers' daily tasks.

Actions Taken

New command center

Dispatchers used to search for data across five different systems. Today they start the day from a single dashboard. Everything is there — from sales to finance — in one unified working environment.

CMR document automation

Manually filling out waybills used to take hours and generate costly errors. Now the process looks completely different. The dispatcher simply opens the details of a specific transport order in the module and immediately generates the required documents. The simplified CMR waybill and delivery receipt are created automatically, pulling data directly from the system. What used to block work for an entire morning is now ready in a matter of seconds. The team reclaims time to plan the next loads.

Route planning on a chart

Before implementation, they lacked a single central place for planning. Routes were organized in their heads, on physical boards, and in scattered spreadsheets where mistakes were easy to make. Today dispatchers have a clear route calendar in the form of an interactive Gantt chart in front of them. They can instantly see which vehicle is on the road and which is waiting to be loaded. No more calling drivers and constantly asking about the current status of an order. From the same view, the team smoothly moves to the internal transport request exchange to quickly fill empty runs. They also have a complete list of defined routes at hand, which drastically speeds up daily quoting for regular customers. Calculating the profitability of an order used to take days and required tedious manual data entry. Now they move to a detailed cost table where the system continuously compares expenses with revenue for each trip. The company finally knows exactly where it stands, analyzing every logistics cost before the truck even leaves the depot. This gives them full, tangible control over the budget.

Fleet and driver management

Keeping track of insurance and inspection deadlines is now straightforward. They open the fleet register and have everything in one place. They browse the technical data for trucks, passenger vehicles, and the driver database. The system monitors dates, so the company avoids penalties for oversights.

Quality audit and security

In the past, errors in the paperwork of external subcontractors only came to light during inspections. Today the company is protected by a built-in data quality audit. The screen immediately highlights incomplete records. The dispatcher opens the carrier database, quickly fills in the missing insurance policy details for the contractor, and saves the changes. The company works only with verified partners, which drastically reduces business risk.

Results Achieved

What changed

Before the deployment

Dispatchers manually filled out shipping documents (CMR) and orders, which was time-consuming and generated errors.
There was no single place for route planning, and tracking fleet insurance deadlines, vehicle inspections, and driver license validity was done across scattered spreadsheets.

After the deployment

The company gained a unified environment in which shipping documents are generated automatically based on entered orders.
Dispatchers have a clear view of planned routes in a calendar, and the system makes it easy to monitor costs, insurance policy deadlines, and driver license validity on an ongoing basis.

Screens from the deployment

New command center — How a Transport Company Cut Time Spent on CMR Documents and Route Planning

New command centerScrolling through the main dashboard with business module tiles. Dispatchers used to search for data across five different systems. Today they start the day from a single dashboard. Everything is there — from sales to finance — in one unified working environment.

Click to enlarge

CMR document automation — How a Transport Company Cut Time Spent on CMR Documents and Route Planning

CMR document automationNavigating transport orders and instantly generating a CMR waybill and delivery receipt. Manually filling out waybills used to take hours and generate costly errors. Now the process looks completely different. The dispatcher simply opens the details of a specific transport order in the module and immediately generates the required documents. The simplified CMR waybill and delivery receipt are created automatically, pulling data directly from the system. What used to block work for an entire morning is now ready in a matter of seconds. The team reclaims time to plan the next loads.

Click to enlarge

Route planning on a chart — How a Transport Company Cut Time Spent on CMR Documents and Route Planning

Route planning on a chartOverview of the route calendar in Gantt chart format, the request exchange, and the cost table. Before implementation, they lacked a single central place for planning. Routes were organized in their heads, on physical boards, and in scattered spreadsheets where mistakes were easy to make. Today dispatchers have a clear route calendar in the form of an interactive Gantt chart in front of them. They can instantly see which vehicle is on the road and which is waiting to be loaded. No more calling drivers and constantly asking about the current status of an order. From the same view, the team smoothly moves to the internal transport request exchange to quickly fill empty runs. They also have a complete list of defined routes at hand, which drastically speeds up daily quoting for regular customers. Calculating the profitability of an order used to take days and required tedious manual data entry. Now they move to a detailed cost table where the system continuously compares expenses with revenue for each trip. The company finally knows exactly where it stands, analyzing every logistics cost before the truck even leaves the depot. This gives them full, tangible control over the budget.

Click to enlarge

How a Transport Company Cut Time Spent on CMR Documents and Route Planning

Click to enlarge

How a Transport Company Cut Time Spent on CMR Documents and Route Planning

Click to enlarge

Quality audit and securityData quality audit screen highlighting errors and editing carrier insurance policy details. In the past, errors in the paperwork of external subcontractors only came to light during inspections. Today the company is protected by a built-in data quality audit. The screen immediately highlights incomplete records. The dispatcher opens the carrier database, quickly fills in the missing insurance policy details for the contractor, and saves the changes. The company works only with verified partners, which drastically reduces business risk.

Click to enlarge