E-commerce is taking over. But it’s not only private purchase behavior that sends the numbers of parcels that are shipped worldwide soaring: Business owners, too, have many of their operating materials shipped. Even though parcel services have eagerly topped up their fleets and collaborations with other competing companies, it’s easy to lose track of single packages. Shipment tracking systems are therefore more important than ever before. But how exactly do they work and how can your business benefit from them?
The Perks of Using Package Tracking Software
As long as everything goes smoothly and as planned, there´s technically no need for a tracking software. Unfortunately, like in all other branches of the economy, too, things don´t always go as planned. With the increasing number of parcels per day, new distribution routes and impatient customers, tracking software has become indispensable for many companies.
DHL is one of the most well-known parcel services worldwide and knows about the perks of package tracking. That’s why the tracking website for DHL packages is frequently used by both sellers and customers. With DHL, each parcel has its own tracking number that needs to be entered if you want to find out about the whereabouts of a specific package. But where exactly does the information come from that the software feeds you?
Functional Peculiarities of Most Shipment Tracking Tools
Each parcel is handled various times during the process of shipment. It is picked up, sorted out along with many others, distributed, stored at handling warehouses and taken to the customer´s front door. The more interfaces there are, the higher is the risk of a package being damaged, lost or simply sent into the wrong direction. But these handling spots also offer one important advantage:
Everything a package is being handled by an employee of the parcel service, it can be traced. That makes it possible for the shipping company to keep track of all handled parcels in order to provide their customers information on when the package is supposed to arrive – sometimes even by the minute.
How Tracking Systems Work
Of course, it takes a lot of technology to track packages in a reliable way. Every handling point and driver should be equipped with a device that allows for tracing. Find out more about that complex endeavor in the following sections:
Barcode Generation
Most parcel services work with a barcode technology where each package is provided with a unique barcode. Employees at the warehouses, drivers and automatic sorting machines have the technical equipment to scan those barcodes. After attaching the barcode to the package, the code needs to be initially scanned in order to generate a tracking number and to appear in the system.
Package Scanning
Each time a package is handled at a specific spot or interface, it is scanned by either a staff member or a machine – be it in Nigeria or abroad. The information about it is sent to a central software powered by the parcel service. That way, all the data about the single parcels is bundled and archived.
Package Tracking
By using a live tracking service, customers and businesses can find out about a specific parcel by entering the number, which is connected to the software. Good tracking software will not only offer information about where the parcel is located at the time of your inquiry, but will also inform you about the estimated date and time of delivery.
Package Delivery
The circle of successful shipment closes as soon as the shipped item is delivered to its receiver. With the last scan, the driver feeds the system with the most current data. That way, the software can declare the shipment as completed.
Boosting Your Business
Entrepreneurs, who ship goods on a regular basis, should inform themselves about package tracking services and about how to implement them in their everyday shipping processes. In a world, where e-commerce is slowly becoming the standard shopping experience, being able to stay updated on deliveries is crucial.
