Tracking and tracing

Modern information technologies make it possible to track the shipment of goods. In intralogistics, the term “tracking” is often used instead of “shipment tracking” or “tracking and tracing”. To track a shipment, accompanying information (also known as notification data) is used. This includes the following information:

  • identification information
  • sender information
  • destination information
  • control information

Ident information is used to identify items, packages or loading units. The sender information includes the place of origin and the sender’s data. Destination information can be used to identify the destination and the recipient. Control information is necessary to obtain information about the delivery route, any intermediate stops and the storage locations. As a rule, only the ident information and sender information are relevant for the recipient.

Tracing – documentation of the shipment tracking

Ident, sender, destination and control information can be documented in different ways. The documentation of the shipment tracking is called tracing. The following options are available for providing accompanying information:

  • The accompanying information can be written by hand directly on the items, packages or loading units.
  • The accompanying information can be attached to the items, packages or loading units with a bar code and then read with a data collection device.
  • The accompanying information does not all have to be in one place. The identification information can, for example, be stored on a barcode and this can be attached directly to the goods. While the identification information is on the goods, sender, destination and control information can be noted on a loosely attached document.

Tracking and tracing improves the shipping company by allowing real-time information on the whereabouts of a shipment to be transmitted through electronic location tracking and monitoring. However, it should be noted that the encoding, labeling and reading of data takes time and thus incurs costs.

More information can be found at Barcode-Label.