Label Created Is Not a Carrier Scan: Why Tracking States Should Stay Separate

A common mistake in carrier tracking systems is treating the first status a carrier returns as proof the parcel is in its hands, when that row often only means a shipping label or pre-advice was created. Such a record reflects that the carrier expects the parcel while it still sits with the shipper. Lumping this pre-scan state into an in-transit bucket distorts transit-time metrics, blurs which party owns a stuck-parcel alert, and produces customer messaging that can be contradicted. The proposed fix is to track a normalised status alongside a boolean for whether the carrier has scanned the parcel and the timestamp of that first scan. Transit time should then be measured from the first carrier scan, and matching should key on the meaning of status wording rather than on carrier-specific rules.