Shipment Locations and Geocoding

This article explains how the Tai TMS turns the addresses on your shipment stops into map coordinates and uses them to show where each shipment has been.

Overview

The Tai TMS keeps a location history for every shipment: where it started (origin), the updates it collected while moving (in-transit points), and where it ended (destination). Each entry in that history has a date and time, a readable description of the place (for example, a city and state), and, when the address can be located on a map, a pair of map coordinates.

Turning a written address into map coordinates is called geocoding. The Tai TMS geocodes the full street address on your stops so that shipment locations can be shown on a map, so a "latest known location" can be displayed, and so distance-related figures such as remaining miles can be tracked. Because it uses the complete street address rather than just the postal code, a stop is placed at its actual location instead of at the center of a ZIP code. This happens automatically as stops are added or edited and as locations are viewed; you do not need to trigger it manually.

The result is that, from a shipment, you can see a plotted picture of its journey rather than just a list of text addresses, and customers or teammates checking on a load can see the most relevant location for where that shipment currently is in its lifecycle.

How it works

When a shipment stop has an address, the Tai TMS looks that full street address up through a mapping service to find its coordinates. The origin and destination of a shipment come from its first pickup and last delivery stops. When a stop is added, or when the address on a pickup or delivery stop is changed, the TMS geocodes the new address; for the first pickup and last delivery, the previous origin or destination point is replaced by the freshly geocoded one. When a live tracking update arrives as raw GPS coordinates instead of an address, the system does the reverse: it converts the coordinates back into a readable location description (city, state, postal code, and country) so the update reads as a place name rather than numbers.

Location updates can come from several places. Some are entered by hand, some are added when a carrier's tracking is checked, and many arrive automatically from tracking providers and driver tracking connected to your account. Every location entry is tagged with the type of point it represents (origin, destination, an in-transit point, an informational note, or a consolidation point), so the system can tell the difference between the pickup, the drop, and the pings in between. Each entry also records where it came from when that is known, such as manual entry, a tracking provider, an electronic message, the public API, or a carrier connection.

The "latest known location" that the TMS works out for a shipment follows the shipment's stage. Before a load is moving, the origin is treated as the latest point. While it is in transit or out for delivery, the newest update is shown. Once it is delivered or complete, the destination is shown. A canceled shipment has no latest location. The stage-based latest location is what the TMS uses when it sends shipment status updates to subscribed partners and data feeds. Other places that simply ask "where was this shipment last reported?" — for example shipment detail lookups through the public API — return the most recent point on record, whatever its type.

Business rules & limits

• Geocoding accuracy depends on the quality of the address. A complete, correctly spelled street address with a valid postal code and country produces the most accurate map placement. Because the system geocodes the full street address, a complete address is placed at the actual location rather than at the center of a ZIP code. Partial, misspelled, or ambiguous addresses may be placed less precisely or may not be locatable at all.
• A stop's address is geocoded automatically when it is added or edited only if its postal code is one the TMS recognizes for the stop's country. If the postal code is not recognized, the TMS does not place that stop on the map until the postal code is corrected.
• If an address cannot be located, that location entry simply will not have map coordinates. It still appears in the history with its text description, but it will not plot on the map until the address is corrected.
• To avoid wasted effort, the Tai TMS remembers when an address could not be located and does not keep automatically retrying that same address. Correcting the address is what allows it to be located successfully afterward: when the address on a pickup or delivery stop is edited, the TMS replaces the old origin or destination point and tries again with the corrected address.
• The system supports United States, Canadian, and Mexican addresses. For the most reliable results, especially across borders, include the full street address along with the postal code and country. Locations outside those three countries are not supported; a place elsewhere can end up described as if it were in the United States.
• An update that has neither a place description nor map coordinates is ignored, because there is nothing to record.
• Near-duplicate updates may be consolidated. If a new location update is essentially the same place as a very recent one for the same shipment, the system treats it as a duplicate and drops it so the history does not fill with repeated near-identical points. For most update sources the window is about five minutes; driver tracking uses about four minutes, and a few live position feeds are not consolidated this way.
• The place description on a location entry is limited to 255 characters; anything longer is cut off. Map coordinates are kept to six decimal places.
• The latest known location depends on how it is asked for: the stage-based version shows the origin before pickup and the destination after delivery even if other updates exist, while a plain "most recent" request returns whichever point was reported last.
• The "last known location" shown in shipment lists and reports is based only on in-transit updates that include a place description. Origin, destination, and informational entries, and the geocoding of stop addresses, never become the last known location, and a later update without a place description does not erase an earlier one.

Frequently asked questions

What is geocoding, in plain terms?

Geocoding is the process of turning a written street address into map coordinates (a latitude and longitude) so the location can be shown on a map. The Tai TMS does this automatically for the full street address on your shipment stops so that shipment locations can be plotted and tracked.

Why does one of my shipment stops not show up on the map?

The most common reason is that the address could not be located. This usually happens when the address is incomplete, misspelled, or ambiguous, or when the postal code or country is missing or the postal code is not one the Tai TMS recognizes. The stop still appears in the location history with its text description; correcting the address so it can be located is what allows it to plot on the map.

How accurate are the map locations?

Accuracy depends almost entirely on how complete and correct the address is. Because the Tai TMS geocodes the full street address, a complete address with a valid postal code and country is placed at its actual location rather than at the center of its ZIP code. A vague or partial address may be placed only approximately (for example, at the center of a city or postal code) or not at all.

Where do shipment location updates come from?

In the Tai TMS, some location updates are entered manually, some are added when a carrier's tracking is checked, and many arrive automatically from tracking providers or driver tracking connected to your account. Live tracking updates that come in as GPS coordinates are automatically converted into a readable place name. Each update is labeled by type so the system can distinguish the pickup, the drop, and the in-transit points, and updates also note which source they came from when it is known.

Which "latest location" will I see for a shipment?

The Tai TMS works out the latest location by shipment stage. Before the load is moving, you see the origin. While it is in transit, you see the newest tracking update. Once it is delivered or complete, you see the destination, and a canceled shipment has no latest location. This stage-based version is what the TMS uses for the status updates it sends out. Some other views simply show the most recent point on record.

Does the system support addresses outside the United States?

The Tai TMS supports United States, Canadian, and Mexican addresses. Including the full street address along with the postal code and country gives the most reliable results, especially for cross-border shipments. Addresses outside those three countries are not supported.

If I fix a bad address, will the map update?

Yes. In the Tai TMS the system stops automatically retrying an address it previously could not locate, so correcting the address is the step that lets it be located. When you change the address on a shipment's first pickup or last delivery stop, the TMS replaces the old origin or destination point and geocodes the corrected address, after which it can be shown on the map.

Why do I sometimes not see every single tracking ping?

When several updates describe essentially the same place within a short window of time (about five minutes for most sources), the Tai TMS may treat the later ones as duplicates so the location history stays readable and does not fill up with repeated near-identical points.

Why does the last known location in a shipment list not match the origin or destination?

The "last known location" in Tai TMS shipment lists and reports comes only from in-transit updates that include a place description. Origin and destination points, informational notes, and the geocoding of stop addresses never become the last known location, so a shipment that has had no in-transit update will not show one.