Tracking refers to the ability to get information on something, and know of its whereabouts and where it is and at what time. When it comes to packages, depending on the mailing and package delivery service one uses and any add-ons chosen, one will likely have the option of being able to track the package one has sent. Whether one chooses United States Postal Service (USPS), FedEx, DHL, TNT, UPS to name the most popular and better known courier service companies in the country, the availability of tracking information so one can track the package from its origin to destination, is possible.

USPS is the only government service provider, with the rest being private, corporate entities. Smaller but equally important names include Amazon, which as the leading marketplace and aggregator site that it is, has its own Amazon shipping services that come with tracking ability. Packages and letters of all shapes and sizes can be sent, and indeed tracked as well. So, should one be sending a present or care package or goodies of some sort to a friend, family member, or business colleague, one can avail of the tracking option to ensure that the parcel does reach its intended recipient.

Apart from packages sent from one person to another, the other and much more frequent type of package service is of course, when it is a purchase from a company’s website for a product of some sort. Today, everything from groceries to household appliances, from apparel and footwear to jewelry and eyeglasses, is bought online. And of course, everyone wants to make sure that their purchases reach them safely, and in the time frame stipulated.

And it is thus the onus of the company sending out the merchandise to ensure it is sent safely through a reliable courier service, and of course, one which provides a bar code that will allow the package’s eager recipient to track its status and movement, from when it is first handed over to the courier company until the moment it is signed for or delivered to the purchaser’s mailbox or doorstep. Some tracking is extremely detailed, offering a blow by blow account of a package’s whereabouts, sharing the entirety of its route and where it is at a given time. Other times the information is less specific, offering that the information that the package is on its way and giving the expected date of delivery.