What are the best tools for container track and trace?
The options for ocean freight track and trace range from asking your freight forwarder for updates to manually collecting updates from carrier tracking portals to unified visibility solutions that provide a single view of what’s happening in your supply chain.
The utility of tracking spreadsheets provided by your forwarder is limited because the data is at risk of being out of date immediately. Similarly, carrier portals are not particularly useful when you manage shipments across different carriers and forwarders or want to set custom notifications to help you manage disruptions. Unified ocean cargo tracking solutions like Beacon offer an enhanced track and trace experience by allowing you to see every ocean, air and road shipment in one place, set bespoke notifications to help you manage exceptions and analyze historical tracking milestones and lead times to improve supply chain performance.
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Ocean Cargo Tracking FAQs
Beacon provides a wide range of container tracking information for ocean shipments. Key milestones include, but are not limited to: Gate in Full, Loaded at POL, Departure from POL, Arrival at POD, Discharged at POD and Gate out Full. For many milestones, both estimates and actuals are provided. Additional milestones allow you to track transshipments through intermediary ports. Additional information about the ports and vessels your containers are traveling to is also available.
To find your container tracking number, you typically need to refer to the shipping documents provided by the sender or your freight forwarder. The tracking number is usually clearly noted on the bill of lading, shipping confirmation email, and any other documentation related to your shipment.