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How to Track a Shipment With Your GR Number

What each tracking milestone actually means, why PTL shows a status chain instead of a live map, and what to do when the status has not moved.

ShipEasier Editorial · 14 Feb 2026 · 6 min read · Updated 5 Jul 2026

Every ShipEasier consignment is tracked by its GR number — the reference printed on the lorry receipt at booking. Enter it on the tracking page and you get the current milestone, the location where it was recorded, and the timestamp. This guide explains what those milestones mean and, more usefully, what to do when the answer you get is not the one you wanted.

Finding your GR number

The GR — also called the LR, lorry receipt or consignment note number — is printed at the top of the lorry receipt handed over at booking. It also appears on:

If you have the invoice but not the receipt, the GR number is the field that ties the two together. Full breakdown of the document in what is a lorry receipt.

What each status means

Tracking a road consignment in India is a chain of custody events, not a continuous stream. Here is what each link actually tells you.

Booked

The consignment has been accepted and the GR issued. The goods are at the origin branch or awaiting pickup. Nothing is moving yet — this status only confirms the paperwork exists.

Manifested

The consignment has been assigned to a specific vehicle and included on its manifest. This is the meaningful one for a part load: it means your cargo is no longer waiting for consolidation. The despatch is imminent or has just happened.

In transit

The vehicle has departed and is on the line haul. On a long route this status can sit unchanged for a day or more, because there is genuinely nothing between "left Jaipur" and "reached the destination hub" to report. Silence here is normal.

Received at destination branch

The consignment has arrived at the destination location and has been offloaded. It is physically in the destination city. For a station-delivery booking, this is the point at which it becomes available for collection.

Out for delivery

Loaded on the last-mile vehicle and on its way to the consignee address. This is the status where a reachable consignee phone number matters most — a failed first attempt turns into a reattempt, and a reattempt is another day.

Delivered

Handed over and acknowledged. The proof of delivery is captured at this point.

Why part loads show a chain, not a map

This is the most common question, so it is worth answering directly.

A full truck load on a dedicated run is one vehicle from origin to destination. If that vehicle carries a GPS device, live position is meaningful — the truck's location is your cargo's location.

A part load shares vehicles and changes them. Your consignment might move on a feeder vehicle to a hub, sit while it is sorted, travel the line haul on a large vehicle with forty other consignments, then transfer again for the last mile. At any moment "which vehicle is my cargo on" has a real answer, but a live map pin on the wrong vehicle would be worse than no pin at all.

So PTL is tracked by custody events — verified handovers at each point. It is less visually satisfying and more accurate. Where the current leg is on a GPS-fitted vehicle, position is shown alongside the milestone.

When the status has not moved

Work through this before escalating — it resolves most cases in under a minute.

1. Check what the last event actually was. "In transit" on a three-day route with one day elapsed is exactly right. The status chain is not obliged to produce daily events.

2. Check the expected transit for the lane, not the distance. A 900 km run on a national corridor and a 900 km run into a hill district are different journeys. Ask what the committed transit is if you do not know.

3. Account for the calendar. Sundays, public holidays and state-specific bandhs stop line-haul movement. So do weather events and regional disruptions on the route.

4. Confirm the freight terms. A To Pay consignment will not be released until the consignee settles the freight. If the status reads "received at destination branch" and stays there, this is the first thing to check — it is a payment question, not a transport one. See the freight terms section in what is a lorry receipt.

5. Check the consignee's availability. "Out for delivery" that reverts without a delivery event usually means nobody was at the address, or the dock was closed. A phone number that reaches someone on site fixes this permanently.

6. Then call, with the GR number ready. Our operations desk can query the specific branch and the specific vehicle, but only against the GR. The first question will always be that number — having it open saves the call.

Sharing tracking with your customer

You can send the consignee the GR number and the tracking page link directly. Two advantages over relaying updates yourself:

After delivery: proof of delivery

Once delivered, the digital POD — timestamped acknowledgement, and photographs where captured — is attached to the consignment record. It is available against the GR number without waiting for paperwork to travel back with the driver.

This matters for two reasons: you can release your own invoice to your customer immediately, and if a shortage or damage claim is coming, the POD notes made at delivery are the evidence it will be assessed on. A clean, unqualified signature is treated as acknowledgement that the goods arrived in good order — so anything short or damaged must be noted at the point of delivery, not the following week.

The bottom line

Keep the GR number attached to everything. Read the milestone rather than the gap between milestones. Check freight terms and consignee availability before assuming a delay is a transport problem. And when you do call, lead with the number.

Track a shipment now, or get in touch if the status does not match what you expect.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I find my GR number?
It is printed at the top of the lorry receipt issued when the shipment was booked. If you booked through an account manager, it also appears on the booking confirmation and on the freight invoice for that consignment.
Why does my shipment show no live map position?
Live GPS position is available where the vehicle is fitted with a tracking device and the consignment is on a dedicated run. Part-load consignments moving through consolidation hubs are tracked by milestone events instead, because the cargo changes vehicles during the journey.
The status has not updated for a day. Is something wrong?
Not necessarily. Long line-haul legs generate no events between departure and arrival, and an overnight halt is normal on multi-day routes. If the status has not moved for longer than the expected transit leg, call with the GR number and we will check with the branch directly.

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