What is a live delivery tracking link?
It is a web address that opens a private page for one delivery. On that page your customer sees where the driver is, when the delivery should arrive and what has happened so far: booked, driver assigned, on the way, arrived, delivered. The page updates by itself while it is open, so the customer never needs to refresh or phone you.
The link is what makes it work. It has to be easy to open from a message, impossible to guess, and safe to forward to a partner or colleague who is waiting in.
What do you need before you start?
Three things, whichever system you use:
- Driver positions. Something must report where the driver is. Usually that is the driver’s phone, through a driver app.
- A tracking page per delivery. A page that turns those positions and status changes into something a customer understands.
- A way to reach the customer. An email address or a mobile number captured when the delivery is booked.
If you use Track That Ride, the first two are built in: every delivery gets its own page and link automatically, and drivers report their position from the driver app on their phone.
How do you send the link, step by step?
1. Capture contact details at booking
Ask for the recipient’s mobile number and, where you can, their email address. The number matters most: it is how drivers reach a recipient at the door and how many customers prefer to be told about deliveries.
2. Create the delivery
Create the delivery with the pickup, the drop address and the recipient. In Track That Ride the tracking link is created at the same moment, as a signed link that cannot be worked out from another customer’s link.
3. Send the link when the delivery is booked
If the delivery has an email address, Track That Ride emails the link straight away. For customers who prefer messages, copy the ready-made message, worded from your own template, and send it by text or WhatsApp from your business phone. Sending it at booking gives the customer time to arrange to be in, or to tell you about access, such as a gate code or a side door.
4. Let the page do the updating
Once the driver sets off, the page shows the driver moving and an arrival time. If the arrival time moves by more than ten minutes, the customer sees the new time without anyone calling them. When the driver arrives, the page says so.
5. Tell customers about problems on the same page
If something goes wrong, such as a delay at collection or a road closure, post a message to the tracking page rather than starting a separate conversation. The customer sees it where they are already looking, and you can see whether they have read it.
6. Close the loop at delivery
After the handover, the page shows the delivery as complete. If you choose, it also shows the photo and signature, which answers “where did they leave it?” before the customer has to ask.
What should the tracking page show, and what should it hide?
Show what helps the customer plan: the driver’s first name and, if you are happy to, their photo and vehicle; the position on a map; the arrival time; and a simple history of updates.
Hide everything else. A tracking page is often forwarded, screenshotted or left open on a shared computer, so it should never show phone numbers, email addresses, delivery codes, internal notes or the driver’s route history. Links should also stop working after the delivery is over, so an old link cannot be used to see where your drivers are next week.
Your drivers are part of this too. Showing their live position is a form of monitoring, and the Information Commissioner’s Office expects employers to be open with workers about it. Tell drivers what customers can see and when tracking happens. In Track That Ride, positions are only sent while the driver has the driver app open.
Which channel should you use?
Use the channel your customers actually read. Email is automatic and free, but easy to miss on the day. A text message is read quickly but costs money per message if you send it through an SMS service. WhatsApp suits customers who already message you there. Many couriers email the link at booking and send a short text or WhatsApp message with the same link when the driver sets off.
Keep tracking messages free of promotions. A message that only tells someone about their own delivery is a service message; once you add offers, the electronic marketing rules apply.
What results should you expect?
When customers can see their delivery, they have less reason to phone. Fewer “where is it?” calls means your office spends less time relaying driver positions, and drivers are interrupted less. For more on that, read how to reduce “where is my order?” calls.
If you sell online and want the link in your own order emails, our WooCommerce and Shopify guide shows how to connect a store with the API.