What is a shipment tracking used for?

Shipment tracking is a concept from e-commerce and refers to the real-time tracking of a delivery’s location. Technically, shipment tracking is based on the use of labels, with each delivery receiving a unique tracking number made up of letters and numbers. This allows for constant monitoring of its position and status. The format of tracking numbers can vary depending on the courier service provider.

Shipment tracking offers significant advantages for both customers and businesses. Customers benefit from being able to track their orders, enhancing transparency and customer satisfaction. From a business perspective, tracking enables control, especially during handover to logistics partners in the supply chain.

In logistics, shipment tracking is often referred to as Track and Trace, which is functionally identical to the term “shipment tracking.” The ability to trace delivery status is critically important, especially in just-in-time or just-in-sequence production models. Here, shipment tracking is a core component of the digital supply chain. In addition to location data, further information such as temperature can also be transmitted — which is vital for food producers.