This article talks about how to track DHL Express shipments using the DHL tracking number. If you have a WooCommerce store, you can easily do this with ELEX WooCommerce DHL Shipping Plugin with Print Label.

Introduction:

Shipment tracking is an extremely vital part of the operations of any online eCommerce store and yet is overlooked often. If you are an online business that needs to ship physical products to both domestic and international customers integrating order tracking is important. Relaying information regarding the status of customer’s orders can improve their experience immensely. International shipping carriers like DHL Express can help you integrate and relay accurate tracking information to your customers with the help of their end-to-end tracking system. One can easily check the status of the packages they shipped using DHL Express using DHL tracking numbers

Customers who placed an order on your eCommerce store, especially first-time customers, may get anxious about the status of their orders and would want to know when it would be delivered. Giving them the ability to track orders placed on your store by themselves helps alleviate some of this buyer’s anxiety. Additionally, it can help reduce canceled orders as anxious customers might experience remorse and request refunds. Accessing tracking information can also be used to address any lapses in the fulfillment process as well as in locating wayward shipments.

What is the DHL tracking number? 

DHL Shipment Tracking is a service that provides detailed item tracking and is available for most DHL shipping options. For DHL Express users, having the ability to track their packages is extremely vital. As DHL Express users, when you ship a product using one of DHL eCommerce’s many shipping options, you will get a Shipment ID or a tracking number. Using this tracking number/ID you can check the status of the shipment, which waypoint in the DHL Express fulfillment system it has reached, estimated delivery date as well as information regarding any delays or problems.

As DHL Express customers, you can access the DHL tracking portal site for checking the status of your eCommerce shipments. There is no additional cost incurred in accessing the tracking information as this service is included in the DHL Express shipping rates.

DHL Express services that offer Tracking:

While DHL offers an extensive selection of services that you can use to ship items with, only a select few DHL Express services offer Tracking. However, end-to-end tracking to the destination is limited for some of these services. The various DHL Express services that offer shipment tracking are as follows:  

Following are the DHL services supported by our WooCommerce DHL plugin:

• DOMESTIC EXPRESS 12:00
• B2C (Service Code 2)
• B2C (Service Code 3)
• JETLINE
• SPRINTLINE
• EXPRESS EASY (Service Code 7)
• EXPRESS EASY (Service Code 8)
• EUROPACK (Service Code 9)
• BREAKBULK EXPRESS
• MEDICAL EXPRESS (Service Code C)
• EXPRESS WORLDWIDE (Service Code D)
• EXPRESS 9:00
• FREIGHT WORLDWIDE
• DOMESTIC ECONOMY SELECT
• ECONOMY SELECT (Service Code H)
• DOMESTIC EXPRESS 9:00
• JUMBO BOX
• EXPRESS 9:00
• EXPRESS 10:30 (Service Code L)
• EXPRESS 10:30 (Service Code M)
• DOMESTIC EXPRESS
• DOMESTIC EXPRESS 10:30
• EXPRESS WORLDWIDE (Service Code P)
• MEDICAL EXPRESS (Service Code Q)
• GLOBALMAIL BUSINESS
• SAME DAY
• EXPRESS 12:00 (Service Code T)
• EXPRESS WORLDWIDE (Service Code U)
• EUROPACK (Service Code V)
• ECONOMY SELECT (Service Code W)
• EXPRESS ENVELOPE
• EXPRESS 12:00 (Service Code Y)

How does my Tracking Number look like and where to find it? 

Knowing what a DHL Tracking number might come handy in certain situations. When the plugin signals DHL that a shipment is scheduled, using one of the many DHL Express shipping options, a DHL Tracking ID and an Archive Air Waybill is generated.

• A ten-digit Waybill number, e.g. 1234567890, which is the primary identifier of a shipment (which can contain multiple pieces)
• A 13-digit piece number normally starting with JD, or JJD, e.g. JJD1234567890123, which identifies a piece within a shipment

For example, if you send a 3-piece shipment, you will have one waybill number and 3 piece numbers that will help you track your individual pieces.

When you place an order on an online shop that uses DHL Express services for their fulfillment, they will provide the tracking number or ID. This information is relayed to you in the form of confirmation emails or shipment notifications. These typically contain the tracking number or ID. DHL Express also features the ability to send an additional SMS to you on the day of the delivery with a link to track the shipment delivery status. Receiving DHL tracking numbers or IDs for orders placed on an online store depends on the type of DHL Express service being used to ship it. You can also find the DHL tracking number/ID on the shipping labels stuck on packages mailed with DHL Express services

How to check the status of your DHL Express Shipment using DHL tracking numbers?

Once the shipment is placed through the DHL Express systems and you have your tracking number or tracking ID, you can check the fulfillment status using one of three official DHL sites.

• webtrack.dhlglobalmail.com – The oldest and most popular ones. When you enter the tracking IDs in the webpage it will provide tracking information in multiple languages like English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, German and Korean.
• www.logistics.dhl – The site provides tracking information as well as details about the sender, recipient, declared value. This page also displays useful parcel attributes along with tracking events.
• dhlecommerce.asia – This site is used to mainly track packages sent to/from Asian countries. It provides tracking information in multiple Asian languages like English, Malaysian, Vietnamese, etc.

You can also access tracking information from the DHL Express Web portal for tracking. Using the tracking web site, you can evaluate the shipment statuses, track parcels and analyze shipping rates to manage and optimize shipping effectively. By entering the Waybill or tracking ID, you will receive a detailed timeline of the milestones that the shipment has gone through.

Most asked questions about DHL tracking

Why does my DHL tracking number appear as “Not found”?

After receiving DHL tracking numbers for packages shipped using the Express shipping options, either from the DHL online shipping site, a DHL plugin for eCommerce shipping or from an online shop that uses DHL for shipping, you can use them to track the shipping status. Sometimes, the status of the DHL shipment shows as “Not Found”. There are a number of reasons why this is so. They are:

• The carrier hasn’t accepted your package yet.
• The package(s) are improperly marked or damaged.
• Your tracking number is incorrect, invalid or hasn’t been properly scanned.
• Your tracking number has expired and removed from the carrier’s system.
• The DHL shipment hasn’t passed a scanning progress location yet.
• The DHL shipping service chosen doesn’t feature end-to-end milestone tracking

Alternative ways to track DHL Express shipments:

DHL’s express tracking tools offer you the latest shipment information, in real-time, direct to your PC, mobile phone or handheld device. They are available to all DHL customers, regardless of how shipments were booked or prepared.

• DHL eTrack: DHL eTrack can track up to 50 express shipments at any one time and operates on any email-enabled device, whether it is a PC, mobile phone or handheld device. Thanks to our efficient tracking systems, we will reply with exact status for all shipments within minutes in your own language.

• DHL ExpressSMS: DHL ExpresSMS allows mobile phone users to track the progress of single shipments. Simply text us the waybill number and we’ll respond with the status within seconds. You can forward the text to colleagues and customers to keep them in the know too.

• DHL ExpressWAP: DHL ExpressWAP allows you to access DHL’s service information or track shipment anywhere, at any time, worldwide from any WAP-enabled device.

eCommerce Platforms and DHL tracking

eCommerce stores that use DHL services to ship their products stand to gain a lot by offering DHL tracking to their customers. It will reduce buyer anxiety by letting them check on the status of their packages, by themselves. Customers that know where their packages are, will be less likely to cancel their orders or request for a refund. DHL shipping and services are also the most cost-effective way to ship out orders to customers, reliably. So if you’re an online store that ships goods to domestic and international customers, you can’t go wrong with integrating DHL into your shipping methods.

Setting up an eCommerce store with DHL shipping isn’t as hard as it probably was earlier. With platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and others, you are given all the technical support you need to get your eCommerce store up and ready in no time. DHL Express services are best suited for the shipping needs of online stores and merchants. Integrating them into your WooCommerce shipping lets you offer DHL eCommerce shipping products and services on your online store. Plugins like the ELEX WooCommerce DHL Shipping Plugin with Print Label does this and more. Lets now see how the plugin can help in integrating DHL eCommerce tracking into your WooCommerce store. 

Integrating DHL Express Tracking into WooCommerce:

The plugin integrates DHL shipment tracking into WooCommerce seamlessly. When enabled, the tracking pins for packages that are being shipped with DHL eCommerce will have a DHL tracking pin generated and included in the Order Notes.

In the Label & Tracking tab, you can find numerous options for configuring the generation of shipment labels and DHL tracking. From here you can very easily enable DHL tracking for WooCommerce store owners as well as customers. Simply marking the checkbox next to the Enable Tracking option under the Tracking section will enable the tracking feature for WooCommerce.

There is also the DHL Email Service option featured in the plugin. In the Label & Tracking settings tab, you will find the DHL Email Service section. Marking the checkbox next to the DHL Tracking Message to Customers will enable this option for your WooCommerce store. Enabling this option sends an email that contains DHL tracking status to WooCommerce customers once the shipments are created and shipping labels generated. In the same settings tab (Label & Tracking), you will find the Archive Air Waybill generation option. Marking the checkbox next to the Request Archive Air Waybill option lets the plugin request the generation of Archive Air Waybills for shipments, via API requests. You can also request one or two Waybill documents to be generated.

Conclusion:

We have gone over the advantages of DHL Express and how tracking can help you and your customers. We have also gone over the steps to be followed to easily enable DHL Express tracking on your WooCommerce store. The ELEX WooCommerce DHL Shipping Plugin with Print Label features support for not only DHL Express services but for products and services from DHL eCommerce and DHL Paket as well.

You can check out the below infographic to see an overview of what the plugin has to offer for DHL Express.

To explore more details about the plugins, go check out ELEX WooCommerce DHL Express / eCommerce / Paket Shipping Plugin with Print Label.

Read the product documentation to understand the plugin, in detail. Or check out the knowledge base for more related articles.

You can also check out other WooCommerce and WordPress plugins in ELEX.