Are you shipping your goods to your customers? Then integrating a tracking solution with an all-in-one solution for your customers would be a real asset.

The all-in-one tracking solution for your website / online shop

A tracking solution allows you to always know where your parcel is located. But how does parcel tracking actually work and what needs to be considered? Learn how you can track every shipment and what problems frequently occur.

How parcel tracking works technically

For you as a customer to always know where your parcel is, shipping companies must implement a complex system. The basis for this system is the tracking number and scanners that can read this number. The parcel tracking process can be described in five steps.

Step 1: Generation of a tracking number

As soon as a product is handed over by the online seller to the parcel carrier, a tracking number (also: tracking ID) is generated. This number is unique and contains all important details for delivery, such as pick-up and destination, buyer’s contact details, etc.

Step 2: Registration at the starting parcel center

As soon as the parcel arrives at the starting parcel center, it is scanned again. From this point at the latest, the parcel should also be visible to you as a customer in the tracking system. From now on, the processing of the parcel is closely documented.

Step 3: Tracking the shipment to the destination parcel center

The status is updated whenever the location of the parcel changes, for example, when the parcel is loaded onto a vehicle on its way from one parcel center to another.

Step 4: The shipment is in transit

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You will receive the next important status information when the parcel is placed on the delivery vehicle by the delivery person in your city („The shipment is in transit,“ or similar). You will then usually receive your parcel on the same day.

Step 5: Delivery of the parcel

As soon as the product is delivered to the end-user or buyer, the tracking system is updated one last time with the delivery status of the item („The shipment was delivered today,“ or similar).

Tracking your shipment: What you need to do

As a customer, the technical details of the shipment can essentially be irrelevant to you. You are interested in the time of delivery. Therefore, we explain how you can track every parcel – regardless of the shipping service provider.

How to get status information about your parcel in three steps:

1. Visit the website meine-sendungsverfolgung.de. This website combines the many different tracking systems of parcel carriers into one interface. This way, you can track any parcel for which you have the tracking number – regardless of whether your parcel was sent with DPD, DHL, or Royal Mail.
2. At the top of the page, you will find a box where you can enter the tracking number. Enter the ID and click on „Start tracking“.
3. On the screen that opens, you will find all information about your shipment.

Tracking is even easier with the meine-sendungsverfolgung.de app. Here you can collect all shipments centrally and thus always keep an overview of various orders.

Shipment Tracking: Common Problems and Questions

The vast majority of all packages sent arrive within the specified time. However, with the large number of packages shipped daily in Germany, problems are inevitable. We have compiled the most important problems and described solutions for you.

Where can I find the tracking number?

• The sender receives the tracking number from the shipping company when they drop off the package. If you order from an online shop, you will likely find the tracking ID in the shipping confirmation you received by email.
• If there is no tracking number there, please contact the shop where you placed your order.
• Please also note that not every package can be tracked. Therefore, before making an online purchase, carefully check which shipping options exist if shipment tracking is important to you.

Why is the tracking not working?

Sometimes, when you enter the tracking number, no information is displayed.

• Check if you made a mistake when entering the number. Most problems with shipment tracking are due to such typos.
• Many shipping companies do not offer real-time tracking. It is possible that the information about your package has not yet been loaded into the system, even though the package is already on its way. This is especially true for the first two days after dispatch.
• Sometimes a package is overlooked and therefore falls out of the cycle. Wait to see if the package is scanned at the next station, or if delivery is tracked even without tracking.

The package was allegedly delivered, but I never received it!

If your package is marked as delivered in the tracking, but you have not received your package, you should do the following:

• Ask your neighbors if they have accepted the package for you.
• Also check the hallway. Parcel delivery services often leave the package there – especially during the Corona crisis.
• A shipment is also marked as delivered if it has been dropped off at a nearby parcel shop. Check the tracking for information about the delivery location.
• If your package is still not found, you must contact the sender. They can then submit a tracing request to the shipping company. As a customer, you do not have a contract with the shipping company and therefore cannot do anything.
• In any case, the sender is responsible for proper delivery. If you can prove that you have not accepted a shipment (visible by the signature) and have not given a delivery authorization, then the sender must resend your shipment to you. A lost package is therefore particularly annoying in the private sector.