Articles on: Integrations

Integrate Zoho Inventory with AfterShip Tracking

Overview


AfterShip Tracking is a thirdā€‘party shipment tracking service. It allows fetching and updating realā€‘time status of shipments via respective carriers. This reduces manual tracking work for businesses shipping many orders per day.


Benefits


  • Tracking support for over 400+ international couriers worldwide.
  • Both shipper and receiver get notified of shipment updates via email or SMS.
  • Updates are fetched in real time in Zoho Inventory.


How it works


  • Once realā€‘time tracking is enabled, AfterShip gets the tracking ID from Zoho Inventory, sends it to the courier, receives status updates, and feeds them back into Zoho Inventory.
  • Simultaneously, customers are notified by email or SMS about shipment location/status.


Setting up the integration



Zoho Inventory gives two options:


1. Use Zohoā€™s readily available AfterShip account


  • For users who donā€™t have an AfterShip account. Click Activate Now to integrate immediately.
  • No separate signup or verification required.
  • Tracking charges are included in your Zoho Inventory subscription.
  • Zoho only shares the tracking ID, carrier name, and for certain carriers, the shipper account number.
  • All shipmentā€‘related emails will come via Zoho Inventory (not AfterShip), to protect customer personally identifiable information.


2. Connect your own AfterShip account


  • If you already have an AfterShip account, you can add its API key in Zoho Inventory settings. You can generate the API key by following the procedure as stated in this link.
  • With your own account, you gain additional benefits:


a. View shipments marked for tracking in your AfterShip account.

b. Vend both email and SMS notifications.

c. Customize email/SMS content.


In this mode, Zoho shares both your and your customerā€™s contact info, shipment details, and possibly shipper account number (for selective carriers) with AfterShip. Both you and your customer will receive status updates directly from AfterShip. Zoho is not responsible for any data shared by AfterShip after integration.


Tracking a shipment


  • This integration works only for manual shipments.


To create a new shipment with tracking:


  1. Open a confirmed sales order.
  2. Go to Create ā†’ Ship ā†’ Ship Manually.
  3. Enable ā€œTrack this shipment in realā€‘time?ā€




  1. Choose a carrier supported by AfterShip.
  2. Enter tracking ID, select carrier, and fill customer contact info for notifications.
  3. Save to create the package slip and tracking details.


To enable tracking on an existing (untracked) shipment:


  1. Open the untracked shipment.
  2. Click Enable realā€‘time tracking.




  1. Provide the tracking details and customer contact.




  1. Save to start tracking.


Viewing the shipment status


  • In your Zoho admin, open a tracked shipment.
  • Click View Tracking Status. For shipments already marked delivered, the option appears as Shipment Timeline.
  • A panel opens showing the current location and the complete shipment timeline.
  • You can also click the Tracking URL to view the status on the carrierā€™s website.




  • If the shipment has been delivered but the status is not updated, you can manually mark it as Delivered.



Updating/deleting tracking details


To edit tracking details (carrier, tracking number, shipper account number, tracking key):


  1. In your Zoho admin, Go to Packages.
  2. Select the shipped package with AfterShip tracking.
  3. Click the pencil icon next to Shipment in Transit.
  4. Make the edits and click Save.


To delete tracking details:


  • Use the trash icon.




These changes are reflected in AfterShip if you're using your own AfterShip account. If youā€™re using the shared Zoho AfterShip account, you may need to remove outdated info from AfterShip manually.


Deactivating the integration


  • In your Zoho admin, go to Settings > Integrations > Shipping.
  • Under AfterShip, click Deactivate.




Updated on: 15/09/2025