Shipment Tracking Software

When businesses do not offer shipment tracking services, customers are not able to estimate when their packages will arrive and companies can not confirm if and where packages are located. This can result in a variety of customer frustrations, which can eventually lead to a decrease in customer satisfaction.

Shipment tracking software enables companies to provide their clients with time estimates as to when their shipments will be delivered, taking the stress of customer service representatives and allowing clients to receive live shipment tracking updates.

This guide will cover what shipment tracking software is, its common features, and more.

Here’s what we'll cover:

• What is shipment tracking software?
• Common features of shipment tracking software
• What type of buyer are you?
• Benefits of shipment tracking software
• Key considerations for purchasing shipment tracking software
• Market trends to understand

What is shipment tracking software?

Shipment tracking software collects data generated by various mail carriers and automatically sends companies and their customers live updates on packages as they are sorted and delivered. Shipment tracking software enables eCommerce and freight businesses to keep their customers up to date on the whereabouts of their orders, increasing shipping transparency and customer satisfaction.

Common features of shipment tracking software

While features vary from product to product, shipment tracking software typically offers some or all of the following functionality:

What type of buyer are you?

• Ecommerce company: These buyers want to remove as much risk from the shipping process as possible to build trust with their online customers. Shipment tracking software allows these companies to use the tracking number/barcode provided to determine a packageʻs location. Each shipping terminal scans the tracking barcode on the package, allowing the package's last location to be tracked. Ecommerce companies should look for a software solution that provides their customers with the highest visibility into the shipping process as possible to increase customer trust and ultimately gain customer loyalty.
• Freight company: These buyers are concerned with their ability to optimize shipping-related costs and their ability to locate lost packages. With shipment tracking software, these companies are able to view the patterns of their shipping operations, influencing decisions such as which carriers to use and which routes are most optimal. Freight companies should choose a shipment tracking software that prioritizes shipment data collection for analysis.

Benefits of shipment tracking software

• Enables the discovery of lost packages: Shipment tracking software can determine the last documented location of a lost package using the packageʻs assigned barcode. This feature can save businesses revenue by eliminating the need to replace shipments that are thought to be lost. Instead, companies can contact their shipping provider and ask them to find the package at its last known location.
• Increases the speed of shipment reroutes: When shipping packages to customers, there are a variety of risk factors that can delay the shipment process. Sometimes delivery trucks break down, come in contact with harsh weather conditions, or get stuck in traffic. In this case, companies can request that shipping companies reroute the package to avoid delivery delays. Shipment tracking software allows companies to alert customers of delays and find solutions such as in-store pickup to mitigate customer frustrations.
• Increases customer trust: Customers that buy products online put their trust in ecommerce and freight companies to get their products shipped and delivered on time with little hassle. Shipment tracking software allows companies to ease any qualms customers may have during the shipping process, providing customers real-time updates on the status of their deliveries.

Key considerations for purchasing shipment tracking software

• Integration capabilities: Be sure to ask your shipment tracking software vendor if the software solutions your business already has in place will seamlessly integrate with their software. Ecommerce and freight businesses typically have payment processing and customer relationship management software already set up that should be able to integrate into the shipment tracking solution to simplify the order placement and shipment process.
• Data security: In this day and age, cyberattacks are more common than ever. Customers will not return to your business if their information is leaked to a malicious third party attacker. Be sure that the shipment tracking system your business uses is more than capable of keeping both your companies data and your customers data protected from cyberattackers.
• User-friendly interface: Every customer that orders a package from your company will not necessarily be tech savvy. Be sure that the shipment tracking system you choose features a user-friendly interface that users of all technical backgrounds can utilize. Ask your software vendor if you can access a free trial of their solution to ensure the software will be easy to operate, no matter who uses it.

Market trends to understand

• Increased usage of drone delivery: According to Gartner, global shipments are forecast to reach 1.3 million units by 2023. In light of this, many shipping companies are turning to cargo freight drones to aid shipping efforts. Cargo freight drones are environmentally friendly aerial technology that deliver goods to customers quicker than traditional delivery methods. Unlike traditional methods of delivery such as delivery trucks, cargo freight drones are not slowed down by traffic and can deliver to remote territories that large freight trucks cannot reach. These drones can also be easily tracked by GPS, providing more detailed and accurate shipment tracking information than traditional delivery methods. Before purchasing shipment tracking software, find out if your carrier of choice is considering using cargo freight drones to aid shipment operations in the near future, as this will innovate your shipment tracking abilities for both your company and its customers.