One customer in three drops a cart if the delivery tracking is not real-time. In Senegal, parcel tracking remains one of the weakest links of the e-commerce experience: tracking numbers that never update, statuses in opaque English, multiple carriers with mismatched interfaces. Here is how to deliver unified tracking to your customers in 2026.
TL;DR
- La Poste Senegal has shipped a REST tracking API since 2024 (free token)
- DHL, Aramex, FedEx: public APIs but complex auth (OAuth2 plus client_id)
- Aftership aggregates 1,100 global carriers behind a single API
- 2026 Aftership pricing: free up to 100 parcels per month, then USD 9 per 100
- Best practice: aggregator webhook plus tracking page branded under your name
The multi-carrier tracking problem
A Senegalese store shipping products from Dubai, Paris or Shenzhen typically relies on 4 to 6 carriers: DHL for premium, Aramex for the Middle East, FedEx for the US, La Poste Senegal for last mile, plus Yango Delivery within Dakar. Each carrier has its own interface, its own tracking number format, its own statuses.
Customer-side friction
- The customer pastes the tracking number on the wrong site (DHL instead of Aramex).
- The status does not update for 4 days, the customer calls support 3 times.
- The final status shows "delivered" but the customer received nothing (zone mismatch).
- Tracking language is English on DHL, French on La Poste, Arabic on Aramex.
- No realistic ETA: "in transit" for 72 hours, then suddenly "delivered" without warning.
The La Poste Senegal API
La Poste Senegal shipped its tracking API in April 2024 as part of the ministry digital plan. Base URL: https://api.laposte.sn/tracking/v1. Auth: X-API-Key header (free after a request via dev.laposte.sn, 5-day validation).
| Endpoint | Method | Use |
|---|---|---|
| /track/{tracking_number} | GET | Current status plus history |
| /track/bulk | POST | Track up to 100 parcels |
| /webhook/register | POST | Receive push updates |
| /branches | GET | Branch list and opening hours |
Returned statuses: registered, processing, in_transit, arrived_at_destination, out_for_delivery, delivered, returned, lost. Update frequency remains irregular (every 6 to 24 hours depending on the branch).
DHL, Aramex, FedEx APIs
The three majors expose robust APIs but with constraints:
| Carrier | Auth | Quota | Update latency |
|---|---|---|---|
| DHL Express | OAuth2 client_credentials | 250 req/min | 15 min |
| Aramex | SOAP/REST hybrid | 100 req/min | 30 min |
| FedEx Web Services | OAuth2 + Client ID + Cert | 500 req/min | 10 min |
| La Poste Senegal | Simple API Key | 60 req/min | 6-24h |
| UPS | OAuth2 | 100 req/min | 20 min |
For DHL, sign up on developer.dhl.com: create an app, request Shipment Tracking - Unified access, wait 48 hours for validation. Endpoint: https://api-eu.dhl.com/track/shipments.
Aggregating with Aftership
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Rather than coding 5 separate integrations, Aftership.com aggregates over 1,100 global carriers behind a single API. You send a tracking number plus carrier name, Aftership returns a normalized status.
- Step 1: create an aftership.com account, fetch the API key.
- Step 2: POST /v4/trackings with tracking_number and slug (dhl, aramex, fedex, lp-senegal).
- Step 3: Aftership polls automatically and normalizes the status.
- Step 4: your /api/aftership/status webhook receives real-time updates.
- Step 5: public /track/[id] page on your domain, branded Kolonell.
2026 Aftership pricing
| Plan | Parcels per month | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 100 | Free |
| Essentials | 2,000 | USD 11 |
| Pro | 10,000 | USD 119 |
| Premium | 50,000 | USD 239 |
FAQ
Q: Does La Poste Senegal tracking cover parcels arriving from abroad?
A: Yes from the moment a parcel hits the Dakar Airport exchange office, where it is scanned into the UPU postal system. Before that point, you must track with the origin carrier (DHL, FedEx) and switch manually.
Q: Does Aftership work on local couriers (Yango, Glovo)?
A: Yango Delivery has been integrated since February 2026. Glovo is not — use their direct API. For small WhatsApp couriers, keep a manual "handed to courier" status with no automatic tracking.
Q: What is a reasonable update frequency to expect?
A: 4 to 6 times per business day for DHL/FedEx, 2 to 4 for Aramex and UPS, once a day for La Poste Senegal. Schedule a daily cron pull if the aggregator alone is not enough.
Q: How to handle privacy (one customer should not see another customer's tracking)?
A: Generate an HMAC-signed token at shipment time (tracking_id + customer_email + nonce), expose URL /track/[token] without public index. Rotate tokens every 30 days.
Conclusion
Solid parcel tracking is not a nice-to-have: it cuts support tickets by 40% and brings customers back for a second order. The 2026 winning mix: La Poste Senegal API direct, Aftership for everything else, branded tracking page on your domain. Kolonell ships this stack as standard on its clients' e-commerce sites. Request a free quote or message WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
