Consumers no longer settle for "out for delivery." They expect to track packages in real-time, just like a food order or ride-share. This demand for transparency has made real-time last mile tracking essential for a satisfying delivery experience. But how does real-time package tracking work, and what impact does it have on delivery operations?
This guide explores what last mile tracking means, what it takes to implement a modern tracking system, and how to build the business case to prove its value.
What is last mile tracking?
Last mile tracking is a strategic capability for delivery service providers that redefines the delivery experience and drives transformation on the final mile. Transparency, accurate ETAs, and proactive communication turn uncertainty into confidence, making delivery a positive and predictable experience for customers.
But its true value goes beyond customer satisfaction. When fully integrated, last mile tracking becomes the connective tissue that links customer experience, driver performance, and operational efficiency. It enables delivery networks to harmonize productivity with the human experience — creating the foundation for scalable, data-driven excellence in last mile logistics.
The benefits of real-time package tracking for carriers
Own the Customer Experience
Stop the endless "Where Is My Order?" (WISMO) calls. Give customers the advanced delivery experience they now expect and lift NPS scores.
How does final mile tracking work?
The most common approach relies on capturing the driver's live GPS location from a device or application like a handscanner or delivery app. This data provides a clear location on a map for the customer. However, this method can be either static—where the system simply shows the driver's location relative to a pre-planned route and a fixed ETA—or dynamic. If it's connected to a system that re-optimizes the route in real-time, the last-mile tracker can intelligently narrow time windows for the recipient as the driver progresses along their route.
The fastest way to implement live tracking
An algorithm-driven approach offers an alternative that requires less operational change. Instead of combining GPS tracking with prediction algorithms, this method uses machine learning to analyze live and historical operational data.
This system is also dynamic, recalculating the estimated time of arrival after each event to ensure the predictions stay aligned with what's actually happening. The main advantage is that this algorithmic tracking can be deployed without needing any new applications on the driver's end, which limits the operational impact of integrating a new last-mile tracking solution.
Key features of an advanced package tracking solution
Live Map Tracking
Give customers the transparent delivery experience they love, with live vehicle updates right on their local map.
How to integrate real-time tracking into your delivery system?
Implementing real-time tracking means setting up a dependable flow of live delivery data from the field into a system that can turn it into recipient-ready updates. In practice, you capture frequent location and status signals from drivers, then stream them into your backend in a clean, consistent event format tied to the right shipments and stops.
Once that pipeline is in place, a tracking engine can continuously interpret progress—map-matching GPS, detecting arrivals and departures, and recalculating ETAs as conditions change. Those updates then need to reach users in a timely way, either pushed to your systems via webhooks or exposed through APIs and UI surfaces such a tracking page or embedded widgets.
The real-time tracking solution needs to be able to handle messy realities like spotty connectivity, GPS drift, route changes, and reassigned stops, while also meeting security, privacy, scalability, and monitoring requirements. When all of that is wired together, recipients see a live map, current status, and trustworthy ETAs, and your operations team gets the same real-time visibility in your delivery system.
Delivery Tracking Success Stories
Read the Case Studies
GLS Netherlands was facing efficiency challenges with fixed delivery windows that were leading to increased customer inquiries. Seeking a solution, they implemented Better Tracking, which provided dynamic delivery windows and real-time updates. The impact was significant: a 10–15% reduction in customer service contacts, improved Trustpilot ratings, and a reduction in low ratings. Better Tracking revolutionized last-mile delivery, increasing customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Reliable Live Tracking for Parcels
Our customer service teams experienced a rapid decrease in customer contact volume after we implemented Bettermile's real-time tracking software. Bettermile has positively impacted the overarching triangle of GLS, our recipients, and our customers.
