How tracking works
When you book a shipment, the carrier returns a tracking number that is stored on the shipment in Smart Send. Status updates from the carrier are then associated with that shipment so you can follow its progress without logging in to each carrier separately. This applies to all carriers Smart Send integrates with, but the update frequency can vary from carrier to carrier.The shipment list
You can review tracking information for your shipments in the Shipments view in the Smart Send platform . Each shipment shows its tracking number and a link to the carrier’s tracking page for real-time details.Cross-carrier status
Each carrier reports tracking events in its own format. Smart Send maps every event to one of a shared set of categories so you can see, at a glance, where a shipment is in its journey without learning each carrier’s terminology. Each category groups many carrier-specific event types that share the same meaning.| Category | Meaning |
|---|---|
AvailableForPickup | The parcel is ready to be collected by the recipient. |
Change | The delivery has changed (destination, shipping method, delivery timeslot, etc.). |
Delayed | Delivery has been delayed but the parcel will still be delivered. |
Delivered | The parcel has been delivered. |
DeliveryFailure | Delivery was attempted but did not succeed. |
Error | A technical error occurred, often the inability to fetch tracking information from the carrier. |
Exception | Something out of the ordinary happened. The parcel may be shipped back, the customer contacted, or delivery retried. |
Expired | Tracking information has expired and will no longer receive updates. |
Info | Informational events. |
Internal | Events from Smart Send, not from the carrier (for example scanning, packing, quality control). |
InTransit | The parcel is on its way through the carrier’s network. |
Notification | A party was notified by the carrier, typically the recipient. |
OutForDelivery | The parcel is scheduled for delivery. |
System | A system event not intended to be shown to end customers. |
Customer notifications
For webshops, we recommend including the tracking number and tracking link in your normal order emails and letting the carrier handle delivery notifications. Do not enable Smart Send’s own tracking emails on top of this — the carrier will already keep the recipient informed. The type of notifications a recipient receives varies by carrier and may include phone app notifications, SMS, and email. Smart Send cannot configure which channels each carrier uses. If you do not have a webshop integration that surfaces tracking, Smart Send can send tracking emails directly to the recipient. To configure them, go to Notifications in your team settings.Integration-specific tracking
If you use a webshop integration, tracking numbers and links are also written back to the order in your shop so customers can see them in the standard order emails and account pages.Shopify tracking
