Service · Web development

Custom track & trace system development.

Your own track and trace system for parcels, loads, batches or people on the move. Real-time location, status updates, a customer portal, branded notifications and integrations with carriers and your own drivers, fully in your brand identity and connected to your WMS, TMS or ERP, so the entire chain gives one consistent view for the customer.

Arrange an introductory call See our work

Tracking implementation is more than a map with a dot.

A working track and trace system combines three things that rarely come together well in off-the-shelf software: reliable location and status data from the field, a customer-facing interface that looks like the rest of your brand, and integrations with the systems your operation already runs. We build that layer to measure, from the first GPS ping or barcode scan to the notification your end customer receives in their inbox.

For smaller e-commerce volumes, a standard package such as Sendcloud, MyParcel or ParcelPro is usually sufficient. We come into the picture once multiple carriers, your own drivers, white-label tracking, batch and lot traceability, or compliance requirements such as GDP, HACCP or the EU Falsified Medicines Directive push standard tools beyond their limits. Tracking often runs in parallel with broader logistics process automation, and over time a custom platform is cheaper than continually stacking new SaaS layers.

The real value of custom track and trace software rarely lies in the map or the tracking page itself; you can set those up in a week. The value lies in the event engine underneath: how you bring carrier API notifications, scan events from your warehouse, GPS pings from your own drivers and manual status updates into one consistent model, and how you feed that data back to your ERP, customer portal, planning and reporting. That is where we add the most value.

What we look at in every tracking project.

Multi-source
GPS, scanning, BLE beacons, RFID and carrier APIs in a single model
White-label
Tracking page and notifications fully in your own brand identity
Multi-carrier
PostNL, DHL, DPD, UPS, GLS and your own drivers side by side
Compliance-ready
Audit log, GS1 coding and sector-specific traceability

Three types of track and trace software we build.

The right form depends on what you track, for whom, and how many parties you have in the chain. The three below cover the large majority of tracking challenges we tackle with clients. In practice there is often overlap, and we build hybrid variants.

Type 01

Consignments and parcels

Logistics & e-commerce

A parcel track & trace system that aggregates events from carrier APIs and your own drivers. Customers see a single tracking page in your brand, receive push, SMS or email notifications at every status change, and can view the signature and photo on delivery. Under the hood, we normalise status codes from PostNL, DHL, DPD, UPS and GLS into a single event vocabulary, so a "collection failed" triggers the same customer communication whatever the carrier. For multi-carrier shippers, we often also link it to a custom order management system so that order status and shipment status become a single source of truth.

Multi-carrierCustomer portalProof of deliveryNotifications
Type 02

Fleet, vehicles and equipment

Transport & equipment

For organisations with their own drivers, construction equipment, returnable pallets or containers in circulation. GPS trackers or BLE beacons send data to a dashboard showing live positions, geofencing, route-level ETAs and exception alerts for stationary vehicles, route deviations or a load unit leaving its assigned zone. We enrich traffic-aware ETA calculations with live traffic data and historical patterns on the road, and on longer journeys with weather impact too. We often integrate with existing fleet management apps, or rebuild that layer when the current tool reaches its limits, for example when you want to see your own vehicles, subcontractors and hired vans in one overview.

Real-time GPSGeofencingETA engineAsset pool
Type 03

Batch, lot and ingredient tracking

Production, food, pharma

Track & trace for production and compliance purposes: from raw material to finished product, with full traceability for a recall, audit or inspection. We work with GS1 coding and SSCC identifiers, HACCP flows, GMP documentation, ISO 28000 for supply chain security and EU Falsified Medicines Directive requirements for pharma. In a recall, you need to know within hours which batches went to which distribution channels and end customers. That requires a data model that follows the entire chain, not just the shipment. For production sites, this is often tied to an MES or ERP and to our broader API integration practice for supplier and distributor integrations.

GS1 / SSCCRecall auditHACCP / GMPSerialisation

What a track and trace project delivers.

A working system in production, plus the infrastructure, documentation and knowledge transfer around it so you can manage it yourselves, extend it or have a third party maintain it. No lock-in at codebase level.

Tracking platform

Production and staging, in your own cloud or hosted by us.

Customer portal

White-label tracking page and notification templates in your branding.

Integrations

Integrations with carriers, WMS, TMS, ERP and your scanning hardware.

Operations dashboard

Live map, KPIs, exceptions and reporting for your planning.

Management and further development

Monitoring, security patches and sprint-based expansion after go-live.

When a custom track and trace system makes sense.

Six patterns where standard track & trace software falls short and custom software pays for itself, whether in operational efficiency, customer experience or compliance assurance.

Multiple carriers + own drivers

You combine PostNL, DHL and your own vans

Standard tools show tracking per carrier, not one consistent customer view. We aggregate all event streams into a single model, normalise status codes and present them uniformly through your transport software stack, so your customer never sees which carrier is handling a particular shipment.

Customer-facing branding

You don't want to show a Sendcloud page

For brands where the tracking experience is part of the proposition: a white-label tracking page on your own domain, branded email and SMS templates, your own sender ID with DKIM and SPF correctly configured, and no external logos or brand names disrupting the brand experience.

Compliance and audit

You work in pharma, food or medical devices

HACCP, GMP, GDP for pharma or the EU Falsified Medicines Directive require serialisation, lot tracking and a demonstrable audit trail down to individual pack level. Standard parcel tools don't cover that; they are designed for the shipment, not the contents.

Batch and lot traceability

In a recall, you need to know within hours where every batch is

Manufacturing and food companies need tracking at the level of raw materials and batches, not just at shipment level. We model this with GS1 codes and SSCC identifiers and integrate with MES and ERP, so that a single batch number leads you to every customer in seconds.

Asset tracking

Equipment, containers or returnable pallets need to come back

Construction equipment hire, container pools and heavy returnable packaging lose tens of millions of euros a year. GPS or BLE tracking with geofencing and exception alerts makes that loss visible, and with the right reporting it can be systematically reduced.

Service companies

Your engineer is on the way and the customer wants to know when

Live ETAs for engineers, with automatic SMS on departure and an arrival window, a "track your engineer" page, and proof of service with signature and photo on completion. Often combined with planning, dispatch, time registration and invoicing integration.

Not yet sure about a large project?

Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day

With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.

Explore OneDayBuild →

How a tracking project works.

01Introduction→ 02Architecture→ 03Build in sprints→ 04Rollout & management
1 conversation

Introduction

Which flows you track, for whom, with which parties, and which systems need to work together.

A few sprints

Architecture and data model

Event model, identifiers (SSCC, AWB), integration strategy with carriers and internal systems.

Sprint-based

Build in two-week sprints

Each sprint covers more of the chain. You test along the way, as do your operations team and end customers.

Ongoing

Rollout and further development

Phased go-live, starting with a pilot carrier or pilot segment, followed by wider rollout and management.

Tech stack and integrations for tracking.

For each project we choose what suits your volumes, infrastructure and data requirements. We have no allegiance to one framework or platform, but we do have clear preferences for what scales well for tracking workloads, such as PostgreSQL with PostGIS for geo queries, Redis for live state, and an event broker once volume calls for one. For the mobile scanning layer we often use React Native, so that a single codebase serves the iOS and Android apps of your drivers or warehouse staff.

Frontend & portal
Next.jsAstroReact NativeMapboxLeaflet
Backend & data
Node.jsPythonGoPostgreSQL + PostGISRedisKafka
Integrations
PostNL APIDHL APIDPD / UPS / GLSExact / AFAS / SAPWMS / TMSGS1 / SSCC

Frequently asked questions about track & trace systems.

Do you replace Sendcloud, MyParcel or ParcelPro?
For smaller webshops working with one or two carriers, those tools are usually sufficient. We don't build an alternative for them, and we will honestly point you back to the standard packages. We do build custom track & trace software when you combine multiple carriers with your own drivers, want a fully white-label tracking experience, have specific compliance requirements (pharma, food, medical devices), need batch and lot traceability that parcel shippers don't cover, or want to integrate your own GPS or RFID hardware for which standard SaaS offers no room.
Which carriers and APIs do you support?
We have built production integrations for PostNL, DHL, DPD, UPS, GLS, Bpost and various parcel aggregators such as Sendcloud (as an event source for shipments you book there) or ShipStation. For lesser-known carriers, we build the integration based on their documentation, via webhook bridges or via EDI where that is the only option. We connect your own drivers via a mobile scanning app, via your existing planning or TMS system, or via a combination of both.
What is the difference between GPS tracking and scan-based tracking?
GPS provides continuous real-time location, which is ideal for vehicles, asset pools and equipment where you need to know at all times where something is. Scan-based tracking provides event data at handover points (collection, hub, delivery) and is cheaper for parcel flows because you don't need hardware for each item. For most clients we combine both: GPS on the driver or lorry, scans on the consignment itself, and BLE beacons or RFID where they fit (for example in a warehouse or for returnable packaging).
Can an in-house tracking system be fully white-label?
Yes, that is exactly why many clients opt for custom development. A tracking page on your own domain in your house style, SMS and email templates in your branding, with no external logos or brand names. We configure notification senders with your own sender ID and set up DKIM/SPF properly, so messages arrive in the inbox as coming from you and not in spam. Push notifications also come through your own app, with your own sound and icon.
What determines the cost of a track & trace project?
The main factors are: the number of carriers and internal systems we integrate with, whether you need tracking at asset or batch level (with or without hardware), the volume of notifications and events per day, and how many branded customer flows (portal, push, SMS, email) are required. Compliance requirements for pharma or food make the data model and audit layer more complex. After the first conversation, we give you a direction; a scope with assumptions and risks follows only after the architecture phase.
How long before a first version can go live?
That depends on the scope. A first working tracking page for one carrier and one notification flow can be live within a few sprints, giving you something to test straight away. A multi-carrier platform with a customer portal, ERP integration and your own drivers is a multi-sprint project and typically goes live in phases: first a pilot segment or pilot carrier, then a broad rollout across the rest of your operation. We work in two-week sprints with a working build at the end of each, so you are never left in the dark for long.
Do you work with our IT department and existing systems?
Almost always. We connect to your WMS, TMS, ERP (Exact, AFAS, SAP, NetSuite or custom), and to your identity provider for SSO. During rollout we transfer knowledge to your IT team with a runbook, architecture overview and clear responsibilities, even if you later want to take over maintenance yourself or have another party handle it. We do not build lock-in at the codebase level.
How do you handle data volume and performance?
Tracking platforms grow quickly: a driver sending a GPS ping every 30 seconds already generates thousands of events a day. We model events with PostgreSQL plus PostGIS for geo queries, use Redis for live state, and Kafka or another event broker when volume requires it. History is archived to cheaper storage tiers, with the option to look back for an audit without slowing down operational queries.

Talk to us about your track & trace system.

A no-obligation half-hour conversation. We listen to the chain you want to make visible, ask questions about volumes, carriers and integrations, and give an honest assessment of whether a custom project is the right choice at all, or whether an existing tool will suffice for your situation. Based on that conversation, we outline the scope and the expected architecture phase, so you can weigh up internally whether to proceed.

Schedule an introductory callEmail fabian.vandijk@appfront.nl

Edit content