[FR] 5 parcel tracking tools to ensure the traceability of your shipments

25% of e-commerce consumers said they would not order online if tracking was limited*. For e-tailers, parcel tracking is no longer a “little extra”, but a crucial part of the customer experience offered by their brand.

Find out here how to choose your parcel tracking tool, and a selection of five interesting software packages.

What types of parcel tracking tools are there?

You’ve probably already placed an order as a consumer on an e-commerce site, so you know how the process works for tracking your order on the receiving end.

Generally, the carrier assigns a tracking number to your parcel, which follows it through all the stages of its journey, making it possible to trace its path with varying degrees of accuracy.

As an e-commerce sender, this tracking process is crucial to your brand image. It is one of the crucial criteria that enable your customers to say that they have had a good experience with your brand.

But when you’re an e-tailer, it’s not easy to juggle all the different parcel numbers and tracking information generated by the carriers you use!

To overcome this problem, there are different types of parcel tracking tools:

• Those that manage the entire transport phase. These are known as Transport Management Systems (TMS), and they track the entire journey of a parcel, from the creation of labels to delivery scheduling for delivery personnel. They are designed for logistics platforms and companies with their own fleet of vehicles.
• Those that only manage the tracking of the parcel itself. These track the delivery itself, to ensure that the goods have been received correctly. They are best suited to e-merchants who use several carriers and want to consolidate all the data from the various tracking tools used by delivery service providers.

In this article, we focus on the second type of tool for tracking the dispatch of your parcel. Need to know more about Transport Management Systems? Check out our top 7 TMS software solutions here.

7 criteria for choosing your parcel tracking tool

There are several software solutions for tracking your customers’ orders. Your aim: to find the one that perfectly matches your business and your customers’ needs in terms of the delivery experience.

In your search, consider the following seven criteria:

• Real-time tracking. The status of the order from the time it leaves the warehouse until it reaches the customer must be updated in real time. Note that some software packages also allow you to track delivery personnel in real time, making it easier to hand over parcels in person and optimising the customer experience.
• Integration with the carriers you use. Your parcel delivery tracking tool should enable you to trace all orders from the same platform, regardless of the transport provider you have chosen.
• Adaptation to your modes of transport. Some software packages are designed solely for postal delivery, while others also include tracking for freight, sea and air shipment. A point to check when choosing your solution!
• Integration with your e-commerce management software. Real-time information updates must be synchronised with your CRM, CMS, WMS and/or ERP. The idea is to be able to track each customer journey accurately from your usual logistics software.
• The presence of a mobile app. Such an application gives your customers easy access to parcel tracking.
• Proof of delivery. Your software must allow the delivery driver to include a photo, signature or scan of the parcel’s barcode as proof of delivery. You should be able to access this from your parcel tracking tool, to simplify your after-sales service management.
• Personalisation. Even if you use software from outside your company, the notifications your customers receive and the tracking pages you send them should reflect your brand image and graphics.

Keep these criteria in mind – and now it’s time to choose the parcel tracking tool that suits your needs.

5 tracking tools for your e-commerce parcel deliveries

Discover a selection of e-commerce delivery tracking software here, and select the one that suits your business and your customers’ expectations.

ShipUp

ShipUp enables real-time tracking of all orders from a wide range of carriers: DHL, UPS, FedEx, TNT, DPD, La Poste, Colissimo, Hermès, GLS, etc. The tool offers integration with the major e-commerce platforms, such as Magento, Shopify and WooCommerce, to simplify your tracking service.

The solution also lets you customise the notifications you send to your recipients about their orders. It lets you replace carrier emails with your own personalised emails, and set up a parcel tracking page tailored to your branding. So you can optimise your brand image from start to finish.

Sendcloud

Sendcloud takes care of all your parcel tracking, providing a connection between the platform, over a hundred carriers and numerous sales channels.

Among other interesting features, the platform allows you to automate the creation of your shipping labels in just one click, as well as sending tracking notifications by SMS to your customers.

ShipStation

ShipStation is a comprehensive parcel tracking tool that integrates over 300 marketplaces, e-commerce platforms, carriers and logistics management systems. The solution allows you to select the transport provider offering the best value for money for each shipment.

The tool automatically generates your transport labels, as well as lists for your order preparation and customs declarations for your international shipments. It allows you to send notifications and create a customised tracking page based on your company’s design.

ShippyPro

ShippyPro is a parcel tracking tool specialising in international shipments. It includes numerous international parcel carriers, as well as a price comparison tool to help you choose the best delivery solution. It creates all the documents you need for your shipments at the click of a button, from personalised labels to customs documents.

ShippyPro lets you send tracking notifications tailored to your needs, with customisable calls to action leading to your site to build customer loyalty. The platform also includes intelligent order routing functionality, to centralise all orders from a single customer and optimise delivery routes.

Shippo

Shippo includes tracking for numerous carriers in France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, the UK, Australia, Canada and the USA. The parcel tracking tool is highly accurate, and automatically calculates an estimated arrival date. Its options for personalising emails and tracking pages are very interesting.

The tool also simplifies your customer returns management, by automatically creating your returns labels. It integrates with all e-commerce platforms.

You now have several options from which to choose your next e-commerce tool. And because parcel tracking starts in your warehouse, when you store your products, remember to label your products in your storage area!

Discover all the materials for labelling and signposting your warehouse on our RAJA online shop, and make your order preparation simpler.

* Sendcloud study by Nielsen, 2023