Track and trace

Track and trace is the capability to record and report the location and status of a shipment at each stage of its journey, giving shippers, forwarders, and consignees event-level visibility from origin to delivery. It relies on milestone events keyed to the bill of lading, container number, or consignment reference, captured at gate-in, vessel load, transshipment, discharge, and gate-out, and increasingly streamed from GPS and IoT sensors. The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) publishes standard track-and-trace event and timestamp definitions so carrier data is interoperable across platforms. Reliable tracking underpins inventory planning, demurrage management, and customer service.