Shipment Tracking: Definition, Benefits, and How It Works

Shipment tracking is crucial for businesses seeking to maintain control and efficiency throughout their delivery operations. Without it, delays, misplaced goods, and lack of visibility can quickly lead to customer dissatisfaction and revenue loss.

This shift is reflected in consumer behaviour, 87.4% say real-time tracking improves their shopping experience, while 59.3% are more likely to trust and repurchase from brands that provide it.

To help businesses meet these expectations, HashMicro’s Supply Chain Management System delivers an end-to-end solution with real-time tracking, automated logistics workflows, and greater delivery accuracy—all in a single platform. 

Just as inventory automation has revolutionized warehouse operations, shipment tracking has evolved into a strategic tool for ensuring customer satisfaction and operational excellence. Here’s what you need to know.

What is Shipment Tracking?

Shipment tracking is the process of monitoring the movement of goods from the point of origin to the final destination. It allows businesses and customers to know exactly where a shipment is at any given time, using tracking numbers, barcodes, or GPS data integrated into supply chain systems.

In practice, shipment tracking involves collecting and updating information at various checkpoints during transit, such as when a product leaves the warehouse, arrives at a distribution center, or is delivered to the customer. 

This data is often accessible through a digital platform or customer portal, providing transparency and real-time updates. Modern shipment tracking systems go beyond simple location updates. 

They can also include estimated delivery times, proof of delivery, condition monitoring (for sensitive items), and automated alerts in case of delays or issues. This capability helps reduce uncertainty, improve communication, and optimize logistics performance.

Benefits of Shipment Tracking 

Implementing a reliable shipment tracking system brings a wide range of benefits for both businesses and their customers. Here are some of the key advantages:

1. Real-time visibility

Shipment tracking provides real-time updates on the status and location of goods in transit. This visibility helps logistics teams monitor shipments proactively, identify potential delays, and take corrective actions before issues escalate.

2. Improved customer experience

Customers expect transparency. Shipment tracking allows them to follow their orders from dispatch to delivery, reducing anxiety and increasing trust. Features like estimated delivery dates and automated notifications enhance overall satisfaction and brand loyalty.

3. Reduced delivery errors

With shipment tracking integrated into your supply chain system, there’s less room for manual error. It ensures that the right products reach the right destination on time, minimizing costly mistakes such as lost or misrouted packages.

4. Better decision-making

Access to detailed tracking data enables companies to analyze delivery performance, identify bottlenecks, and optimize routes or courier choices. Over time, this leads to smarter logistics strategies and cost savings.tracking shipment

5. Increased operational efficiency

By automating status updates and minimizing the need for manual follow-ups, shipment tracking helps teams focus on value-added tasks. This streamlines communication between departments, couriers, and customers.

In a fast-moving supply chain environment, these benefits make shipment tracking not just a helpful tool but a vital component of efficient, customer-centric logistics operations.

How to Track Shipments for Businesses

For businesses of all sizes, shipment tracking is essential to ensure timely deliveries, minimize operational errors, and enhance customer satisfaction. Here’s how to track shipments with a tracking number in their logistics process:

1. Implement a shipment tracking system

The first step is to adopt a digital system or platform that supports real-time shipment tracking. This software should enable businesses to monitor deliveries, automatically update statuses, and provide access to historical data.

2. Assign unique tracking identifiers

Each shipment should be labelled with a unique tracking number or barcode. This identifier allows all stakeholders—logistics teams, partners, and customers—to track the movement of goods throughout the delivery cycle.

3. Integrate with carrier systems

Businesses that use third-party logistics providers should ensure seamless integration with carrier systems. This enables automatic data synchronization, allowing updates to flow in real-time without manual input.

4. Monitor real-time movement

Once items are shipped, businesses can monitor their status using GPS or scanning data at various checkpoints. Real-time updates help identify issues early, such as route delays or delivery failures, allowing for prompt action.

5. Send proactive notifications

Automatically sending shipment status updates to customers, such as “shipped,” “out for delivery,” or “delivered,”—builds trust and reduces inbound inquiries about delivery status.

6. Track delivery performance

After the shipment is completed, data collected through tracking can be used to evaluate performance metrics, such as average delivery time, frequency of delays, or success rates by courier.

7. Centralize tracking information

Maintaining a centralized dashboard where all shipment data is visible helps internal teams coordinate more effectively, especially in businesses that manage multiple locations or high volumes of shipments.

By establishing these steps, businesses can create a more efficient and transparent shipping process, reduce errors, and improve long-term logistics planning.

What to Look for in a Shipment Tracking Tool?

When evaluating a shipment tracking tool for your business, focus on the following core capabilities that support efficient and reliable logistics:

1. Ability to provide real-time shipment visibility

The tool should allow you to see the exact location and status of every shipment at any point during transit. This helps reduce uncertainty and improves delivery coordination.

2. Support for multi-carrier tracking in one place

A good tracking solution must consolidate data from various logistics partners into a single dashboard. This ensures smooth monitoring even if you work with multiple couriers or shipping providers.

3. Capability to automate customer communication

Your tracking system should automatically send timely updates to customers, such as shipping confirmations, estimated arrival times, or delays, to reduce manual work and increase transparency.

4. Insight generation through shipment data analysis

Beyond tracking, the tool should help you analyze performance trends like on-time delivery rates, average shipping duration, or recurring delays, enabling better decision-making.

5. Early detection and handling of delivery issues

It should alert you instantly when something goes wrong, such as failed delivery attempts, customs problems, or unexpected reroutes, so your team can respond quickly and minimize impact.

Selecting a tool with these capabilities will help streamline your logistics workflow, enhance customer satisfaction, and mitigate operational risks.

Track Shipments in Real Time with HashMicro’s Supply Chain Solution

HashMicro’s Supply Chain Solution enables businesses to track shipments in real-time through an integrated and automated system. With a centralized dashboard, users gain complete visibility over every delivery, regardless of carrier, route, or location.

It offers real-time shipment tracking with live updates, delay alerts, and smooth team coordination. It reduces delivery risks, enhances customer satisfaction, and supports faster decisions—try the free demo today.

Key features of HashMicro Supply Chain:

• Shipment Tracking: Monitor the real-time status and location of every shipment in one centralized platform, ensuring full visibility and control from dispatch to delivery.
• Planning & Forecasting Management: Optimize inventory and logistics operations with accurate demand forecasting and data-driven planning tools to reduce stockouts and overstock.
• Order Management: Streamline the entire order cycle—from order creation to fulfillment—while ensuring accuracy, faster processing, and better coordination across teams.
• Analytics and Reporting: Gain actionable insights into delivery performance, operational efficiency, and shipping trends through comprehensive reports and customizable dashboards.
• Automated Notifications: Keep customers and internal teams informed with real-time alerts and updates at every key stage of the shipping process, improving communication and trust.
• Return Management: Efficiently handle product returns with tools that track return status, reasons, and inventory updates—minimizing errors and enhancing the customer experience.

Conclusions

Shipment tracking is more than just monitoring parcels—it’s a key element in maintaining transparency, efficiency, and trust throughout the supply chain. With the ability to track shipments in real time, businesses can reduce delays, minimize lost goods, and respond quickly to unexpected issues.

HashMicro’s Supply Chain Management solution consolidates all these capabilities into a single, integrated platform. With advanced shipment tracking, automated workflows, and detailed analytics, it empowers businesses to take full control of their logistics process.

If you’re looking to improve visibility, cut inefficiencies, and gain better control over your supply chain, HashMicro is ready to help. Get a free demo today and see how our solution can streamline your shipment operations from start to finish.

FAQ About Shipment Tracking

• What is the process of shipment tracking?

  Shipment tracking is the practice of monitoring the movement of goods throughout the delivery process. With the help of advanced technologies like AI, stakeholders can access real-time updates on the location and condition of shipments.

• What is shipping status?

  In e-commerce, delivery status refers to the current progress of a customer’s order throughout the shipping process. It shows both the physical location of the item and its stage within the overall fulfillment cycle.

• What is a waybill number?

  Each waybill is given a unique tracking number that allows the shipment to be monitored from its point of origin to its final destination. Waybills are typically issued in multiple copies so that all parties involved in the shipment can retain proper documentation.