Providing Parcels and Tracking Numbers
Whether an order is shipped as one box or multiple, Ingrid Delivery Tracking tracks them all. To make this possible, Ingrid System needs to receive tracking numbers for each parcel. Note that in the context of Ingrid Delivery Tracking, each tracking number represents a single package.
Data flow varies depending on whether you book deliveries through Ingrid Transport Administration or through a different system.
Deliveries booked with Ingrid Transport Administration
When Ingrid Transport Automation is used to create and book shipments, the generated tracking numbers are automatically recognised by Ingrid Delivery Tracking. All tracking numbers representing individual parcels are matched with the proper Order out of the box when a Transport Order ID (order identifier) is used in the createShipment or createAndBook request.
There are two ways to achieve multiparcel Delivery Tracking with Ingrid Booked shipments:
- Booking singular shipments, one per parcel.
- Booking one shipment, containing multiple parcels.
Both methods are interpreted in the same manner by Delivery Tracking Widget.
Information on a shipment level can be different from the information present on an order level. In such a case, Ingrid Delivery Tracking will prioritise data introduced on the shipment level and present that data to the End Customer on the Tracking Widget and Tracking Page, overriding order level information.
Deliveries booked with external systems
If you are using an external system to book orders, you can still track them using the Ingrid Tracking Widget. To this end you need to post tracking numbers to the Ingrid System using the RegisterTrackingNumber endpoint.
To properly register a tracking number you received from your external booking system, you need to specify the order number (external_id or tos_id) along with the carrier product that was used for booking in a POST request made to v1/events_gateway/events.registerTrackingNumber.
POST v1/events_gateway/events.registerTrackingNumber HTTP/1.1
Host: api.ingrid.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer <BASE64-ENCODED-API-TOKEN>
{
"tracking_number": "BST000185540",
"external_id": "592978",
"carrier_product_ref": "postnord-mypack-collect",
"direction_type": "OUTBOUND"
}
POST v1/events_gateway/events.registerTrackingNumber HTTP/1.1
Host: api.ingrid.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer <BASE64-ENCODED-API-TOKEN>
{
"tracking_number": "BST000185540",
"tos_id": "01G51NDWW1NCPNV2MV5WMB0H6A",
"carrier_product_ref": "postnord-mypack-collect",
"direction_type": "OUTBOUND"
}
POST v1/events_gateway/events.registerTrackingNumber HTTP/1.1
Host: api.ingrid.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer <BASE64-ENCODED-API-TOKEN>
{
"tracking_number": "BST000185540",
"external_id": "592978",
"carrier_product_ref": "postnord-mypack-collect",
"direction_type": "RETURN"
}
The external_id or tos_id you provide in the RegisterTrackingNumber request must exactly match the one used in either Ingrid Delivery Checkout or Ingrid Transport Automation. This correspondence allows us to accurately link tracking numbers to orders and provide a seamless Tracking Experience for End Customers. Any discrepancies will result in incomplete information and potentially hinder Consumers' ability to track their parcels effectively.
To track multiparcel orders booked externally, register each tracking number individually using the same order identifier (external_id or tos_id) in each request. This automatically connects them to the same order for a smooth Tracking Experience.
Specifying a carrier product used for booking can be tricky, since each party or system usually operates based on self-made identifiers. That is why Ingrid has created a mechanism that makes the integration easier by allowing any integrator to reuse its own internal naming while being precise about the carrier product - see carrier product mapping.
direction_type is an optional field that holds information about the initial package direction. This information helps us show you the most accurate list in IMP and provide the best Tracking Experience for Customers. Direction type is especially important when you are registering not only outbound parcels but also returns - e.g., when you are booking a return shipment and want to register it with our system.