The Russian cargo transportation market is preparing for a large-scale digital transformation. From September 1, 2026, the electronic bill of lading will become mandatory for all participants in the transport process, which will significantly increase industry transparency and reduce transaction costs.
According to estimates by transport companies that have already implemented an electronic document management system, the use of digital transportation documents can reduce routine paperwork by 50%. Russian Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin said at the Eastern Economic Forum that currently about five million electronic transportation documents have been issued in Russia, and after the transition to mandatory use, their number may reach five billion per year.
The government expects that the digitalization of document management will not only reduce the costs of carriers, but will also allow to "whitewash" the market, ensuring more thorough control over the movement of goods within the country and reducing the risks of fraudulent schemes with VAT and substitution of goods.
Large logistics operators have already appreciated the advantages of electronic document management. According to Vadim Filatov, President of the Avtogruzex Association, Avto-PEK has been operating more than 90% of flights using electronic waybills since May 2023. Instant data transfer between supply chain participants and built-in verification mechanisms minimize errors and significantly speed up processes.
When switching to electronic travel documents, the processing time is reduced by three times to 15-30 minutes. The verification of transportation information, medical and technical examinations is reduced by more than a third, taking from 15 to 60 minutes. The full integration of the electronic waybill platform with the internal systems of companies reduces the labor costs of logisticians for the preparation and verification of data by an average of 35%.
Representatives of the Delo group of companies confirm that electronic processing of transportation orders has significantly reduced labor costs, improved the quality of customer service, transparency and manageability of processes. Reducing the time required for document management accelerates the turnover of funds and optimizes the internal costs of companies.
Experts note that the transition to electronic document management will allow companies to reduce the cost of maintaining large accounting departments, equipment, taxes and rental of premises. Large transport companies spend up to 100-200 square meters on storing archives of paper invoices, which become unnecessary with digitalization.
Despite the obvious advantages, many companies are still in no hurry to switch to electronic document management. The main reasons are the unavailability of partners and the need for parallel paper document management, as well as insufficient elaboration of legal nuances, especially in relation to international transportation.
It is expected that the mandatory use of electronic waybills, combined with the creation of a register of freight forwarders on the GosLog platform, will increase industry transparency, reduce the proportion of unscrupulous carriers, and normalize relations between shippers and carriers. Digitalization will eliminate the possibility of violating the law regarding car overloading and make the processes in the transportation market more predictable and controlled.
