The e-TTN Project in Ukraine 2024: What to Know and What to Be Ready For?
Despite the ongoing war, Ukrainian business stands strong, and the innovations in electronic document interchange are robust. The e-TTN project is being actively developed and tested, rightfully taking the top positions on the agenda for every Ukrainian enterprise, including the largest market players. In this article we explore the details of e-TTN, the effects of its implementation and possible future of the project, which is about to revolutionize the logistics and supply chain industry of Ukraine.
What do we know?
Electronic consignment note (e-TTN, Ukr. електронна товарно-транспортна накладна) is a single document for all participants in the transportation process, intended for accounting for goods and material values in transit, calculations for the transportation of goods, and accounting for the work performed (according to the current Law of Ukraine "About Road Transport" No. 2344-III, current edition dated 01.01.2024).
The e-TTN contains mandatory details, which are also determined by the Law of Ukraine "About Road Transport" and the rules of cargo transportation by road transport.
Information on the registration of e-TTN is contained in the Register of Consignment Notes, which is held by the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine (full name – Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine).
Metadata about e-TTN (data about process participants, points from which and to which the goods are headed, weight of the goods and their group) will be stored in the Register of Consignment Notes, together with a link to the platform from which the e-TTN was created. However, the EDI providers will be responsible for saving data from the e-TTN itself.
Currently, e-TTN is used in an experimental mode, so for now, enterprises need to have one paper copy of the consignment note (TTN) with all the signatures.
After the use of e-TTN becomes mandatory, there will be no need for a paper form.
The e-TTN exchange process participants
The process of exchanging consignment notes and, respectively, e-TTN involves three main participants:
- Consignor
- Carrier
- Consignee
According to the current Ukrainian legislation, each of these participants is obliged to have separate copies of the consignment note.
Why do we need e-TTN in Ukraine?
The main goal of the implementation of the e-TTN project in Ukraine is the digitization of consignment notes, which are mandatory documents for any kind of road freight transportation. But even at the current trial stage, we can already unmistakably see a number of significant advantages that businesses receive from e-TTN implementation:
- Simplification of supply chain processes, and improvement of their quality and transparency
- Increase in the speed of logistics processes due to convenience and efficiency of e-TTN creation and registration
- Reduction or elimination of financial risks associated with transportation of goods
- Reduction of time, financial and employee resources wasted on paper document management
- Mitigation of the "human factor" influence on the document flow of enterprises and data exchange
- Enhancement of data security (electronic signature), elimination of the forgery risk for business-important documents
- Alignment of the Ukrainian business landscape and legislation with European standards
e-TTN: Project Milestones
- July 2019: The Order of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine No. 413 "On Approval of Amendments to the Rules of Cargo Carriage by Road in Ukraine" introduced electronic registration of the consignment notes.
- January 2020: Launch of a pilot project with the implementation of a unified central e-TTN database.
- October 2021: The Law of Ukraine No. 1534 introduced changes to the TTN registration procedure, according to which the consignor would be required to indicate the vehicle and its parameters (length, width, height, total weight, including cargo, and gross weight).
- August 2022: Planned implementation of mandatory e-TTN for all transport operations in Ukraine (postponed due to full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine).
- February 2023: Launch of e-TTN in test mode.
What’s next?
The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine is working on improving the e-TTN system both from the technical side and from the business point of view.
Constant work is being done to anticipate all the possible scenarios that may arise during the transportation process (e.g., change of a carrier, reloading at an intermediate warehouse, errors during e-TTN creation, attacks on energy infrastructure, etc.) and adapt the e-TTN system to them. Additionally, work is ongoing to enhance the central e-TTN database.
EDI providers that meet the requirements of the system and are ready to provide e-TTN exchange services are currently taking part in testing the project. Later, they will be obliged to undergo the state accreditation process. Once the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopts the resolution on e-TTN for cargo transportation, all EDI providers will have to undergo re-testing.
Comarch is directly involved in the testing of the e-TTN project in Ukraine.
The next step after the successful implementation of e-TTN, which is being discussed at the state level, is the adaptation of the Ukrainian e-TTN system to the standards of the European Union (eFTI) and integration into the electronic document flow of the European logistics space.
How to Prepare Your Business for e-TTN
In order to start using e-TTN, enterprises need to:
- Choose one of the EDI providers that joined the project in Ukraine, set up all the relevant business processes together and start testing e-TTN
- Ensure the availability of qualified electronic signatures for all employees involved in the transportation process
Comarch has been actively participating in the development and improvement of the e-TTN project as part of the working group under the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine. Comarch is also an EDI provider for the e-TTN exchange, named on the project's official website. Do not hesitate to contact our experts for the in-depth consultation or learn more on Comarch EDI website.
