Information about the shipment is as important as the shipping itself. Nowadays, a prime goal for manufacturing/selling/retail companies is to ensure the safer and timely arrival of their shipments. Besides quality shipping services, respectable shipping companies now compete to provide real-time delivery shipment from the starting point to the end position. Tracking of the goods during the transportation time is a default feature nowadays. It is something that customers count on.
Good tracking solutions identify the location of a shipment by answering the questions: what is the current position of the shipment? what are the conditions inside/outside the delivery shipment (temperature, humidity, corrosion level, etc)? Proper tracking devices and software give answers to all these questions. Accordingly, leaving clients more and more satisfied while raising and maintaining the excellent service quality at the same time. How to track the shipment of an ordinary package and how to track the freight? What is the difference between the two? Is there a unique shipment tracking guide for these two?
Freight vs Parcel
What’s the difference between parcel and freight? Parcels are ordinary, everyday shipments that weigh less than 150 pounds and can be lifted without assistance. Packages are small things that can make our day or not after waiting for them sometimes with anticipation. Anything above that weight needs to be shipped as freight. So, what is freight? Any shipment over 150 pounds is regarded as freight. Freight shipping is the transportation of goods, commodities, and cargo in bulk by ship, aircraft, truck, or via train and road. It can be transported domestically or internationally by land, air like air freight Kuwait or sea. How does shipment tracking work?
Understanding shipment tracking
The tracking of the parcels and the freight is the same. Freight is larger at its size and needs fewer checkpoints. Besides, the chance that the freight will become lost or damaged is lower. Essentially, the fewer checkpoints and transfers a shipment has to go through, the safer and the faster that shipment will be. It skips a lot of zone scannings so it lowers the tracking price range. On the other hand, freight size occupies more space and results in higher prices of shipping itself. While size plays a large role, the shipping methods of the two also differ by how they are handled, transferred, and delivered. All in all, the tracking system is the same whatever the form of shipment.
Shipment tracking
Let us find out how these shipping companies work to make a smooth freight tracking system, so it helps them deliver the items to the customer’s destination within the required time frame. You track shipments to localize exactly where the shipments are at different points of time during sorting, warehousing, and freight delivery. Both physically and within the system. This information enables customers to be a part of the process if they have:
- Tracking number
- A registered account with the shipping company
- Contact with the Customer Support Service
Entering your 12 digit tracking number or reference number will be enough to get to know the status of your shipment or proof of delivery. A registered account with the carrier/shipping company will give you updates about your shipment in just one click or just one tap. Other benefits include tracking from anywhere anytime, staying up to date by setting automatic alerts, tracking in real-time, seeing everything on one clear interface, etc. Regardless of the shipping company, contacting the customer support service might solve a lot of customs issues about tax and duties, document preparation, destinations, or location information.
Shipment tracking guide or how does tracking system work
What happens with the shipment that you don’t see? Here are the steps to follow to have goods on their way to the final delivery point.
- Bar code generation
- Scanning Bar Code details
- Storing the Scanned Data
- Receiving the product
- Re-scanning the Bar Code
- Out for Delivery
- Product Delivery
Scanning and barcoding the shipment
Generation of the bar code
A logistics/shipping company, such as Easy Move Kuwait, takes in the products, and generating a bar code is the first thing to do. A barcode is a special ID that has all the information about the freight, like, pick up and destination details, sender and buyer’s contact details, etc.
Scanning Bar Code Details
The next thing to do is to load the items for delivery. The shipment company scans the bar code, and this data is stored in the tracking system of the company’s website.
Receiving the Product
After leaving the shipping company at the start location, the shipped item reaches another branch of the shipment agency at the buyer’s location as a third step.
Bar Code Re-scanning
Further, as the new shipping agency receives the product, it scans the barcode and stores the parcel details in the tracking system, which includes information about its received time.
Out for Delivery
At this point, the goods are with the shipping agency at the aimed destination. Scanning the products again is in progress at this point. Finally, the goods are ready to be picked up or sent out for delivery. Lastly, re-storing the scanned information in the tracking system is the last thing to do. This information gives the time the products left that shipment agency for delivery.
Shipment Tracking in brief
To sum up, the customer can track and see the movement of the shipment by entering the tracking number, barcode number on the website of the shipment company. The barcode status provides detailed step-by-step progress of where the freight is at the exact moment. One of the main advantages of the tracking system is that it lowers the chances of freight getting lost or misplaced. What is more, the customers also have a conception of their products which keeps them stress-free. With billions of parcels or tons of shipping items being sent through shipping companies, it helps to track them well and avoid loss or mishandling.
Tracking systems have become highly sophisticated, thanks to the advanced technology platforms that they use nowadays. Even if your parcel or freight is thousands of miles away, you can track it with just a click of the mouse or the tap of a screen. All things considered, shipment tracking is a standard of modern times that can’t be bypassed. It has equal benefits for business owners, manufacturers, sellers, retailers, and customers on the other end. Hoping this short shipment tracking guide brings benefits for you too.