Digital forwarding file: all papers of a shipment in one place

In full load transport the matter is simple: one order, one load, one file. In less-than-truckload and groupage, however, the same packages carry several numbers. Your own order number, the shipment number of the network, the manifest number of the main leg and the customer reference describe the same shipment from different angles.

The forwarding file therefore needs one leading key and a list of secondary keys. The leading key is usually the order number from the TMS. The shipment number, manifest number and customer reference are stored as metadata and are equally searchable.

In many forwarding companies the invoice to the customer depends on the return of the papers. Many consignors require the proof of delivery as an attachment to the invoice, and your own accounting only wants to pay carrier invoices once delivery is proven. As long as the document lies in the truck, in the partner depot or in a mailbox, the settlement is stuck.

The digital forwarding file turns the return into a monitored task. If the proof of delivery is missing a few days after the planned delivery date, the workflow creates a follow-up reminder for dispatch. When it arrives, the file releases invoicing. simpleflow from AWP Consult sends invoices and credit notes electronically and attaches the proof automatically.

In national freight law, § 438 HGB governs the damage notice. If an externally visible loss or damage is not reported at the latest upon delivery, it is presumed that the goods were delivered complete and undamaged. For externally non-visible damage, a deadline of seven days after delivery applies, and for exceeding the delivery deadline a period of 21 days. Notices after delivery require text form.

Claims arising from carriage generally become time-barred after one year under § 439 HGB, and after three years in the case of intent or equivalent fault. The period begins at the end of the day of delivery. For cross-border road transport the rules of the CMR apply, which we have summarised on the page about the DMS for logistics.

For dangerous goods on the road, the ADR requires a transport document under section 5.4.1 with details such as the UN number, proper shipping name, packing group and quantity. The consignor must keep a copy of this document and of the additional information for at least three months after the end of the carriage under § 18 (1) no. 12 GGVSEB, and the carrier likewise a copy for at least three months under § 19 (1) no. 4 GGVSEB.

Which role your company has in the individual case, consignor, carrier or both, depends on the order and belongs in your dangerous goods organisation. For the forwarding file this means that the transport document lies with the shipment as its own document type, with a minimum deadline that is considerably shorter than that of the invoice in the same order. Drivers' training records do not belong in the forwarding file, but in the digital personnel file.

Under § 147 (3) AO and § 257 (4) HGB, three standard deadlines have applied since 2025: ten years for books, financial statements and customs documents under Art. 15 of the Union Customs Code, eight years for accounting documents such as invoices and credit notes, six years for received and sent commercial and business letters. Received delivery notes without a document function may be destroyed after the invoice has been received. The deadlines begin at the end of the calendar year in which the document was created or received.

A single forwarding file therefore holds documents with minimum deadlines of three months, six, eight and ten years. Anyone who keeps the whole file according to the longest deadline retains personal data longer than necessary. Anyone who deletes it according to the shortest loses accounting documents. The solution is deadlines per document type with deletion protection until expiry.

In addition, the deadline under § 147 (3) AO does not expire as long as the documents are of relevance for taxes whose assessment period has not yet expired. How an archive implements this technically is described on the pages about archiving software and the GoBD-compliant DMS.

Under § 453 HGB, the forwarding contract obliges the forwarder to arrange the dispatch of the goods, and the consignor to pay the agreed remuneration. Two contractual relationships therefore meet in the file: the order from the consignor with conditions and outgoing invoice, and the commissioning of the carriers with their invoice or credit note.

From this follows the permissions concept. Dispatch and customer service need order, transport and proofs, accounting additionally the settlement, the damage department the damage sub-file. Carriers and partner depots should deliver documents, but not see the conditions of other parties. Rights therefore depend on sub-file, document type and location, and every access is logged.