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A prealert is an advance shipment notification submitted by a courier partner before a package physically arrives at the warehouse. By submitting a prealert, the courier tells Shiipp to expect a specific tracking number — and when warehouse staff scan that number at intake, Shiipp automatically matches it to the prealert and pre-fills the customer’s name, shipper, and description. This eliminates manual data entry, reduces errors, and speeds up the intake process for everyone involved.

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How Prealert Matching Works

1

Courier Submits a Prealert

Before a package ships, the courier partner submits a prealert via the API with the customer’s tracking number and details. The prealert is created with a status of pending.
2

Package Arrives at Warehouse

The physical parcel reaches your warehouse facility.
3

Warehouse Staff Scans the Tracking Number

A warehouse user scans or enters the carrier tracking number into Shiipp’s scan module.
4

Shiipp Matches the Prealert

Shiipp checks for a prealert with a matching tracking number. If found, the customer’s name, shipper, and description are pre-filled automatically on the package record.
5

Prealert Transitions to Received

The prealert status automatically updates from pending to received. No manual action is required.

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Prealert Statuses

StatusMeaning
pendingThe prealert has been submitted but the package has not yet been received at the warehouse.
receivedThe package has been scanned into the warehouse and matched to this prealert.
flaggedThe prealert requires manual review before the package can be processed.
The transition from pending to received happens automatically — either when a matching tracking number is scanned at the warehouse, or immediately at submission time if the package has already been logged. You do not need to manually update the prealert status in the normal workflow.

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Submitting Prealerts via the API

Courier partners submit prealerts programmatically using their API key against the public prealert endpoint. 
POST /api/Prealert.php
Authenticate by including your API key in the request. See the full courier API guide for authentication details and request examples.

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Duplicate Prevention

If you submit a prealert with a tracking number that already exists for your courier account, the API returns a 409 Conflict error. Check your existing prealerts before resubmitting to avoid duplicate records.

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Benefits at a Glance

Faster Warehouse Intake

Pre-filling customer data from a matched prealert means warehouse staff spend less time on data entry and can process packages more quickly.

Fewer Data Entry Errors

Because customer details come directly from the courier’s submission, there is no risk of a warehouse operator mistyping a name or tracking number.

Automatic Status Updates

Prealerts resolve themselves — no one needs to manually mark a prealert as received. Shiipp handles the transition the moment the package is scanned.

Full API Access

Courier partners can integrate prealert submission directly into their own shipping workflows using the REST API and their unique API key.
For the complete API reference, including authentication, request payloads, and response codes, see the Submitting Prealerts guide.