The Italian ports of La Spezia and Trieste were the focus of operational demonstrations within the European project eFTI4EU, an EU-funded initiative aimed at promoting the digitalisation of transport and controls along the logistics chain. The trials, coordinated by Circle Group together with industrial and institutional partners, sought to verify full interoperability between public platforms and private systems, in line with the European eFTI (Electronic Freight Transport Information) Regulation and the European Green Deal’s objectives for more efficient and sustainable logistics.
Two separate pilot cases were conducted: in La Spezia, an intermodal import flow towards the Bologna Freight Village, and in Trieste, a cross-border export transport operation starting from Austria and bound for a non-EU country. Both trials validated the automated transmission and sharing of transport data, the creation of the electronic e-CMR document, and its direct integration with customs platforms and control systems.
In La Spezia, managed by Gruber Logistics, the test confirmed the transmission of Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) data from the company’s TMS system to the Keystone platform, the generation of the e-CMR, and its automatic sharing with the eFTI platform and the Port Community System of the Ligurian port. The results demonstrated how interconnection between systems eliminates redundancies and manual data entry, enabling authorities to carry out immediate, fully digital transport data checks.
The second pilot, developed in Trieste in collaboration with the Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mare Adriatico Orientale (Port Network Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea), concerned transport from Austria through Slovenia to Italy, ending with export operations from the HHLA PLT terminal. During the process, the Road Police conducted digital checks using the app linked to the national “eFTI Gate Italy” node, which retrieved and verified the electronic travel documents in real time. The e-CMR, created and digitally signed by freight forwarder Autamarocchi and the driver via Accudire’s ExAc platform, was shared throughout the supply chain, including with AIDA customs systems of the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency.
The programme also successfully tested the direct connection between Circle’s eFTI platform and Accudire’s ExAc platform, enabling the integration of blockchain-notarised data shared in real time through the Node-Sinfomar Connector. This level of interoperability allowed for the automated management of port gate access and full digital traceability of the process, up to the final handling at the Trieste terminal.
The demonstrations confirmed that certified digital data flows can fully replace paper documentation, reducing verification times and improving data transparency. As highlighted by the companies involved, digitalisation and document dematerialisation represent strategic levers for enhancing the competitiveness of European intermodal transport.
According to Luca Abatello, CEO of Circle Group, “the pilots in La Spezia and Trieste show that interconnection between public and private systems can lead to a truly interoperable and sustainable European logistics framework. Cooperation between industry, institutions and authorities helps to reduce administrative burdens and foster a more transparent and collaborative approach across the supply chain.” The eFTI4EU project, developed in synergy with the European Keystone project, is part of the broader digitalisation process envisaged by the eFTI Regulation, which aims to create a unified digital ecosystem for the secure exchange of information between economic operators and public authorities in freight transport.
