Order Shipment Tracking
Goflow monitors the progress of small-parcel packages. Goflow continuously pulls carrier updates from the moment a shipping label is created until the package is successfully delivered to your customers. To view the status of a shipment, open the order and look at the Shipment Tracking card.
Shipment tracking is available for the these carriers:
To pull status updates for shipping labels created through Amazon Buy Shipping or Walmart Buy Shipping, you must maintain an active UPS, FedEx, USPS, or DHL account in Goflow. These accounts are used to retrieve tracking updates directly from the carriers.
Similarly, shipments created by an integrated 3PL warehouse or by importing external shipments require an active account in Goflow for the respective carrier in order to track those shipments.
Understanding Tracking Statuses and Updates
Goflow begins tracking shipments as soon as the package leaves your warehouse. An order is considered to have left the warehouse once its status is updated to Shipped. Orders in Ready for Pickup status will not begin tracking until they are checked out on a shipping manifest.
The tracking statuses include:
- Awaiting Pickup – This initial status for shipped orders indicates that the carrier has not yet acknowledged receipt of the package.
- Picked Up – Confirms the carrier has received the package. (Available for DHL eCommerce only.)
- In Transit – The package is en route to the customer.
- Delivered – The package has been successfully delivered.
- Failed – Delivery was unsuccessful, and the package is expected to be returned.
Goflow refreshes tracking information twice daily: once in the evening — after most packages are typically picked up — and again in the morning. Each tracking status is associated with two timestamps:
- Progress Time – The time the carrier advanced the shipment to its current tracking stage. This appears next to the tracking status.
- Refreshed Time – The time when Goflow last retrieved tracking information from the carrier. Hover over the tracking number to view this timestamp.
USPS Stamps does not provide a Progress Time.
For multi-box shipments, all packages usually progress together and share the same tracking status. However, if some boxes lag behind, the overall shipment status will reflect the slowest-moving package. If any box fails delivery, the entire shipment is marked as Failed.
Filtering by Tracking Status
To monitor the health of your shipping operations, use the Shipment Tracking filter on the main Orders page to identify shipments that have unexpected statuses. You can combine this filter with other order filters to uncover specific issues and take action. For example:
- Pickup Delay – Identify shipments that have not been scanned by the carrier. Use filters: Shipped Date = Yesterday, Shipment Tracking = Awaiting Pickup.
- Late Delivery – Detect shipments at risk of missing their delivery window. Use filters: Deliver-By Date, Shipment Tracking = In Transit.
- Failed Delivery – Review shipments marked as failed and likely returning. Use filter: Shipment Tracking = Failed.
Manually Updating Tracking Status
If a shipment experiences significant delays, Goflow will continue checking for tracking updates for up to six weeks for orders in Awaiting Pickup, and up to two months for those marked In Transit. After these periods, the shipment is considered stalled and will no longer receive updates.
You can manually update the status of a stalled shipment by clicking the pencil icon next to the tracking status and selecting the appropriate progress status. For example, if a package was picked up by the carrier more than six weeks after label creation, manually update the status to In Transit. Or if a package is awaiting pickup by the customer at the post office, and the carrier won’t mark it as delivered, you may choose to manually update the status to Delivered.
Manually updated shipments will no longer receive automatic tracking updates.
In multi-box shipments, you can manually update the status for a single tracking number without affecting the other tracking numbers in the shipment.