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External Parcel Tracking: track parcels without outgoing shipments

Kristie
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LiteGrowthPremiumPro

Purpose: Learn how to track parcels in Sendcloud without creating outgoing shipments, and how to set up your account and API integration for this functionality.

: Shipping with this carrier is only possible for beta users. For more information, read our article Join the Sendcloud Beta Community

Related articles

→ What is Support Automation

→ How can I add my own carrier contract? 

→ Sendcloud API documentation and Quick Start Guide

Note: To use the External Parcel Tracking feature, you must have the contract credentials of the carrier you want to use it for. 
If you are not the contract owner (for example, if you work with a 3PL provider or generate your labels through a marketplace), you will need to request or obtain the carrier’s contract credentials. Otherwise, it will not be possible to use this feature.

What is External Parcel Tracking? 

External Parcel Tracking allows you to track parcels in Sendcloud without creating outgoing shipments. This means you can still use Sendcloud’s tracking features even if your parcels are sent from another system or warehouse.

By using External Parcel Tracking, you can:

☑️ See the status of your parcels in Sendcloud.

☑️ Receive notifications and updates for your shipments.

☑️ Automate customer support workflows with Support Automation.

Step 1: Join the beta community 

External Parcel Tracking is currently a beta feature, which means it’s available only for accounts that have been added to the beta program. To get started, make sure your account has access. If you’re not sure whether you’ve been added, please check the article What is beta? or contact Sendcloud Support.

Step 2: Set Up Carrier Contracts 

Before parcels can be tracked, you need to connect your carrier contracts in Sendcloud.

  1. In your Sendcloud panel, go to Shipping → Carriers.
  2. Add or select your carrier contracts and set them to Active.
  3. Ensure you have the correct API credentials for tracking. 
Important: Only active contracts can be used to track parcels.

Step 3: Create a Sendcloud API Integration 

Once your carriers are set up, you’ll need an API integration to register parcels for tracking.

  1. Go to Settings → Integrations in your Sendcloud panel.
  2. Create a new API integration.
  3. Use the Create an external parcel for trackingto register parcels.
  4. In your request, include the carrier contract ID from Step 2.

 

For testing purposes, you only need to provide the required fields to register a parcel. However, we recommend filling in as many details as possible (such as parcel reference or customer details) to make tracking and reporting more accurate.

If you want to send branded tracking emails, you can also provide your brand_id in the request.