Shipping Tracking

What does shipping tracking mean?

Shipment or shipping tracking refers to the ability to track an item which is being sent from one location, often via a courier or logistics company, and delivered to another. Originally, shipping tracking was not offered by parcel handlers and the ability to track shipments only became available after it was pioneered by postal giant FedEx in the 1970s.

When originally introduced, shipping tracking was only intended to be used to help FedEx keep track of the flow of parcels that it was handling, but it quickly became apparent that customers would like shipping tracking information. Today, shipping tracking is usually offered by all courier and logistics companies on registered packages as standard, with varying degrees of effectiveness depending on the handler and the journey of the parcel.

Due to the fact that different levels of shipping tracking are offered by different handlers, and the fact that multiple handlers can be involved in one shipment's delivery, shipping tracking specialists began to offer services that can track multiple couriers worldwide, so that customers can get all their tracking needs in one place. This is the idea behind Ship24, which was built with multi-courier, AI-powered auto-detection which allows it to scan the web for all the shipping tracking information relevant to your parcel using just the tracking number.

Ship24 is available for free for casual users, who can enter and track up to 10 parcels with 10 different couriers at the same time with just the click of the button. Simply enter the shipping tracking numbers for your parcels and begin getting information on the status and location of your parcel in as close to real-time as possible. For more advanced, professional tracking, Ship24 also offers webhook and parcel tracking API functionality, where a business's system is integrated directly with ours so that it can access all shipping tracking information as soon as it becomes available, for unrivalled tracking transparency.

Why is shipping tracking better with Ship24?

Due to the nature of the modern-day shipping sector, businesses and customers can face many issues when it comes to end-to-end shipping tracking. Some of these are:

• Cross-border shipments: When packages travel overseas, they often pass through multiple carriers, meaning that accessing shipping tracking information is difficult. This is where Ship24 excels, as it can still detect and pull information on your package even if it is being handled by multiple carriers
• Delay notifications: Where some couriers do not provide status updates on parcels, Ship24 offers step-by-step status notifications to make sure you are kept up to date with the progress of your parcel and, more importantly, if it has encountered a problem that could be causing/has caused a delay in delivery. An example of this is if a package is stuck at customs.
• Accessing tracking: If you parcel passes among multiple couriers or you are unsure who your courier is, you don't need to start searching google to find out where to track your parcel. Equally, if you want to track multiple parcels travelling with different couriers, accessing multiple websites to get tracking information can become difficult. Ship24 means you can track all of your shipments in one place, simplifying shipping tracking for both buyers and sellers. Join the companies and customers tracking millions of parcels all in one place, with Ship24.

How does shipping tracking work?

When you enter your shipment tracking number onto the Ship24 homepage, the in-built auto-detection feature immediately recognizes information about your parcel, such as the courier it was originally sent with, and begins searching the internet for the latest tracking info regarding your parcel. Ship24 then pulls this data from the relevant sites and delivers it instantly either via the website (if you are searching manually) or to an integrated system (a service designed for businesses who want to optimize their shipping tracking) via webhook or tracking API functionality.

How do I get shipping tracking on my parcel?

In order to access shipping tracking for a parcel, you will need to get the shipment tracking number which will be provided at the point of purchase either by the postal service (such as DHL, TNT, China Post, India Post) or by the marketplace (such as eBay, Etsy or Alibaba). If purchased via the former, it will likely be given in a confirmation email, the latter shipping tracking number will most likely be available at the point of check-out or in the orders section on your account.

Once you have your shipping tracking number, often referred to as simply a tracking number or code, just head to the Ship24 homepage and enter it into the search bar to get the latest possible information on your package. The average tracking number is between 10 and 15 characters long, and will be a collection of numbers and letters depending on the courier, destination and so on.

However, you don't need to be able to read or interpret your tracking number and you don't need to provide any other information to Ship24 for it to begin shipping tracking. Simply enter the shipping tracking number and click search, to begin utilizing market-leading tracking capability.

Which online businesses offer shipping tracking?

Most online businesses and marketplaces will offer shipping tracking through the courier company which they use, which should be made clear to you at the point of purchase but may also depend on the size of your order and how quickly you want it to be delivered.

Bigger marketplaces usually use a specific courier. For instance, eBay in the United States will typically make deliveries with UPS or FedEx. However, if the parcel is travelling overseas, it could be handled initially by UPS then by a local courier in the destination country, such as TNT in Europe or AusPost in Australia. The good news is, you don't need to know who will be handling your parcel at different parts of its journey, as you will be able to access end-to-end shipping tracking on the Ship24 website, using just your tracking number.

Ship24 offers multiple shipping sector services, including shipping from China logistics services and IOSS fiscal intermediary solutions for businesses exporting eCommerce goods to the EU, alongside our personal and professional tracking options. If you want the reassurance of having your services provided by shipping sector experts, choose Ship24 for your shipping tracking needs.