A customer searches for a product online or may directly land on your store since they know about you. They find the product on your website, place it in their carts. Finally, they proceed to make the payment and complete the checkout process. They receive the order confirmation, and you’re happy that you made a sale. Are you wondering what’s next? Your customer will want to know how to track a shipment!
Tracking the shipment is one of the first things customers do after placing an order in your store. Since everyone wants their products faster, tracking is the only way to know the status of products. Statistics suggest that as many as 97 percent of the customers expect to track and monitor their orders at every shipping process step. For this reason, as an online seller, you must provide your customers with an option to track their products online.
Chances are most customers might not know how to track a shipment when they are purchasing from your store for the first time. Therefore, it becomes your duty as a responsible seller to inform your customers about the same.
There are many reasons why tracking can be helpful for your online business. It directly provides your customer with superior customer experience. In other words, no matter what you sell in the market, make sure that tracking is an important business metric for you.
Why Tracking?
Understanding how to track a shipment is secondary. First, you need to understand the importance of eCommerce tracking for your store. Tracking is essential for your eCommerce business since it provides your customer with more clarity about their package.
Provide Greater Visibility
When you’re providing your customers with order tracking, you’re providing them with greater visibility. This means they know how fast, when, or where their package is at the given moment. This removes any insecurities from the mind of the customer. At the sale time, it also makes you come across as a robust and reliable business.
Reduced Business Costs
One of the biggest benefits of letting your customer know how to track a shipment is reducing your business costs directly. The point is that customers can get really impatient about knowing whether their orders are moving.
For example, let’s say that a user X on your website ordered a lamp for a friend’s birthday. They might have ordered well in time so that they could present their friend with the gift right on the birthday. However, if they don’t know about the parcel’s whereabouts, they might start panicking and contacting your customer support. This results in higher business costs since your resources will be utilized to answer a customer’s queries. Moreover, if such issues keep on arising time after time, you will need to outsource these to a 3PL that will further raise your costs.
However, with a tracking page, all of this is sorted out, and there is no need for an additional support division just for answering trivial tracing related issues.
Meet Customer Expectations
When customers know how to track a shipment, they tend to feel more satisfied with the purchase. In other words, online shoppers have become more accustomed to a much high level of visibility for thier orders. If you fail to provide them, they’ll quickly move onto market titans like Amazon.
Alternatively, by providing your customers with information on how to track a shipment, their expectations are met. Moreover, they are more likely to come back to your store for purchase and give you good reviews.
Enjoy Greater Control Over Order Fulfillment
Tracking information can give you a greater degree of control over your order fulfillment process. As an online seller, the chances are that you are relying on a courier service to deliver the products for you. You hand over the parcel to them once you have dispatched the order.
After that, the shipping company takes it to their hub, it undergoes transit and finally is taken out for delivery. With the tracking information provided by the courier company, you can know the movement of the parcel and have greater control over your order fulfillment. After all, it’s your business reputation at stake.
The Process of Tracking a Shipment
The process of tracking a shipment begins from once the customer places an order. It is a part of the order fulfillment process where you get to know how smoothly your order is making progress from your warehouse to your customer’s doorstep.
Here is the detailed process of tracking-
Dispatched
Once you receive an order, you pick, pack, and dispatch the product. This is listed as dispatched on the tracking page. It refers to the process that the product is ready to be shipped and has been handed over to the courier company.
Shipped
Once the courier company takes charge of the parcel, it is marked as shipped on the racking page. It merely means that the package is in transit to the customers’ doorstep. Having said that, many companies also list it as ‘in transit’ on thier tracking page.
Out for Delivery
It refers to last-mile delivery when the package is taken out for delivery to the customer’s doorstep. Once the order is shipped, it reaches the final delivery hub that is the closest to the customer’s delivery location.
How to Track a Shipment for eCommerce Courier Services?
FedEx
FedEx is one of the most popular courier services in the world. It is widely known for its expedited and responsible delivery. The packages shipped via FedEx are picked up on time and delivered to the customer’s doorsteps without any hassle. Moreover, FedEx ensures that its orders are delivered to the customers’ doorstep with utmost safety and protection. It also has a simple tracking page. Once a parcel is shipped via FedEx, a message is sent to the customer. It contains the tracking number and link. Using that, the customer can track the order in a single click.
DHL
A German logistics company, shippers know about DHL for its courier services around the world. DHL has a special division of services for eCOmmerce businesses. This helps small and medium sellers use specialized courier services and deliver the products much faster at the customer’s doorstep. When it comes to tracking parcels, DHL provides sellers and customers with a tracking number. You can use this to know the parcel’s real-time status.
Aramex
Another popular courier service is Aramex. The company helps in shipping domestic parcels seamlessly without any issues. Aramex has an excellent tracking system in place for shippers. Whether you’re a regular shipper or an online seller, the company offers a one-click tracking provision. If you’re wondering how to track a shipment on Aramex, you can try it by two methods. Either enter the tracking number of the package or search via the package reference. Aramex makes tracking more comfortable than ever.
India Post
India post is a postal courier service by the government of India. It is a reliable courier service. Many online sellers use it to ship across the country. One of the best qualities of India post is that it is a low-cost postal service. Moreover, it helps users easily track their shipments online. If your customer is wondering how to track a shipment, you can simply give them the tracking number shared by India Post. Using this tracking number, you can track your parcels in a matter of seconds at India Post.
Gati
Gati is one of the lowest-cost courier partners in India. It indeed started out small but has been able to earn a reputation for itself with its unparalleled delivery. With its extensive reputation for shipping eCommerce orders, Gati can help deliver anything and everything. It caters to a vast number of locations in India and has easy tracking. Gati couriers offer a docket number to the shipper. If you are a seller who is shipping the parcel, you can forward the same to your customer. This way, your customers can simply browse Gati’s online website and track their packages.
Xpressbees
One of the most successful courier services out there is Xpressbees couriers. The company has been able to carve a niche for itself with its exceptional delivery services. Xpressbees is relatively new in the eCommerce industry, but a lot of small businesses have begun to ship using Xpressbees. Usually, its delivery is before the estimated time, giving customers a great satisfaction level. Xpressbees offers one-click tracking to the shippers. In other words, if you’ve been shipping using Xpressbees, and wondering how to track a shipment, don’t worry. You can track your parcels with the order number or the AWB number.
Wefast
Wefast is a hyperlocal delivery courier service. It delivers in a radius of around 50 kilometers in your geographical area. In case you are selling groceries and other quick delivery items online, you can ship with this courier service. Additionally, if you are wondering how to track a shipment, you can do it easily with Wefast. The courier company provided you with a tracking number and a link using which you can monitor the delivery agent’s movement in real-time.
Ecom Express
The courier company Ecom Express has a broad reach in India. If you’ve shipped your online order using Ecom Express, you must have received an AWB number for your respective order. The same can be used to track shipments online. The tracking provided by Ecom Express is hassle-free and more convenient than ever. Moreover, you can follow the current status of the parcel using the Ecom Express tracking number. If your customer is wondering how to track a shipment, you can share the tracking details with them.
DTDC
DTDC courier tracking is effortless. If you’ve shipped your parcel using the DTDC courier service, you must have received a tracking number. The tracking number is either received on the registered email id or the phone number. While shipping, you must have provided this in the shipping label. Using this, you can understand how to track a shipment and inform your customer about the same. You can also simply type ‘DTDC tracking’ in Google and enter your tracking number in the search engine page.
BlueDart
People know Bluedart for not only its delivery services in India but also worldwide. The company is one of the most reliable when it comes to delivering your parcel. Whether you’re shipping a food item or apparel, Bluedart is the courier service you can rely on. Moreover, Bluedart’s tracking is also extremely convenient. You can track any parcel with ease using the Bluedart tracking number. Once you ship the package, the courier forwards the tracking details to your mobile phone. Using this, you can know how to track a shipment and make your customer aware of it.
Delhivery
When it comes to professional eCommerce deliveries, no one does it better than delivery. The company is famous for its fast and efficient delivery services. Delivery tracking is super easy both for the customer and online sellers. If you worry about how to track a shipment, you can track it via Delhivery’s tracking number. The courier team provides the tracking number, once you had over the parcel to them.. Sellers can pass this tracking number to their customers for convenient tracking.
Tracking eCommerce parcels can be more straightforward than you seem. With a platform like Dash101, you can ship with multiple partners while providing your customers with tracking information. Shipping with a one-stop logistics solution can be a great idea when it comes to ease of business. You can instantly cater to all your shipping needs from one platform and save costs no matter which courier partner you choose to ship your parcel. Moreover, you can answer the question of how to track a shipment. And at the same time, you meet the customer expectations to the fullest.
