WhatsApp for Logistics and Delivery Companies: Updates, Slots and Proof of Delivery

Logistics and delivery companies use WhatsApp to send shipment updates, confirm delivery slots, rebook failed deliveries and share proof of delivery, all from one business number. Your own system sends approved utility templates through an API, and replies go to a shared inbox so a person can deal with exceptions.

This guide is for couriers, transporters and delivery firms, and it starts with the thing that catches them out: the person receiving a parcel may never have heard of you. If you run an online shop instead, see WhatsApp API for ecommerce.

Which messages to send at each stage

A courier’s messages differ from a shop’s, because they’re about a moving parcel and a person who needs to be there. Here’s a typical set:

Meta lists “on its way” and tracking number messages as utility examples. It also says an order update with a promotion is marketing, and a general survey won’t pass as utility. Meta decides the category of every template, so keep operational messages free of sales wording. See WhatsApp templates for how this works.

First, sort out opt-in: the receiver isn’t always your customer

This is the part that catches couriers out. WhatsApp’s policy says you may contact someone only if they gave you their number and agreed to hear from you, and Meta says the opt-in must clearly state the name of the business. In parcel delivery, the receiver gave their number to a shop, not to you. Meta’s page doesn’t address opt-in collected by another company, so don’t assume it carries over.

A click-to-chat link or QR code on a label lets the receiver message you first, so you can reply for 24 hours. Ask in that chat if they want updates, and save the answer before sending templates later. See WhatsApp opt-in for sample wording. Local law may add more, and this isn’t legal advice.

Delivery-slot confirmation and rebooking

A failed first attempt usually means a second trip. Asking before the van leaves is the simplest place to use WhatsApp:

1. The evening before, send a utility template with Confirm and Change buttons.
2. If they confirm, your team or system marks the stop as confirmed.
3. If they tap Change, that reply opens the 24-hour window, so an agent can offer times in a normal chat.
4. If nobody replies, try a normal route: a phone call or a note from the driver.
5. If the attempt fails, send a template with the reason and a Rebook button.

Sample slot message: “Hi {{1}}, your parcel {{2}} from {{3}} is due tomorrow between {{4}}. Will someone be there?” [Yes, confirm] [Change slot]

Sample failed delivery: “Hi {{1}}, we couldn’t deliver parcel {{2}} today because {{3}}. We’ll keep it until {{4}}. Tap below to pick a new time.” [Rebook]

Customers can also send a location pin or a photo of a gate, and it appears in the chat. That saves the driver from asking for directions. Button taps and replies arrive in the shared inbox, with auto-assign to spread them across your team.

Proof of delivery

WhatsApp won’t replace your proof-of-delivery system, but it’s a good way to share the proof, and to collect it from drivers who have no app:

• Send proof to the customer. A utility template can carry an image or document header, so the “delivered” message can include the doorstep photo or signed note.
• Collect photos from drivers. A chatbot started by a keyword such as POD can ask for the consignment number, then use a Collect Media step to ask for the photo.
• Keep it in one place. The photo stays in the chat with that driver. Save it in your own system too if your contracts need it.

Sample delivered message: “Hi {{1}}, parcel {{2}} was delivered on {{3}} at {{4}} and received by {{5}}. Photo attached. If something’s wrong, reply here.”

Driver and customer contact

If every customer has a driver’s personal number, you lose the record and the driver gets messages after hours. A shared business number fixes both:

• One number, many people. The customer chats with your business, and an agent answers. A driver’s own number stays private.
• Dispatch as the middle. The dispatcher reads the chat, then tells the driver what they need. Internal notes keep this off the customer’s screen.
• Drivers on the inbox. The inbox works on a phone as an installable web app, and agents are unlimited, so a driver can be a team member and see only chats assigned to them, if your setup needs it.
• A way to reach a person. If a bot answers first, the policy requires a clear route to human help.

Automation helps with the repeat questions. A chatbot or AI Assistant can answer “What are your hours?” or “Which areas do you cover?” from your own documents. For “Where’s my parcel?” it needs live data, so see the section on connecting your system below.

B2B customers: fewer messages, more detail

A factory or a distributor doesn’t need a ping per carton. A business customer usually wants one contact, exceptions first, and paperwork on request:

Use contact groups to split customers by branch or route. Campaign messages to these groups should still follow the utility rules: a notice that a route is closed may fit, while a new rate offer is marketing. You can also move enquiries from IndiaMART or JustDial straight into contacts if you buy leads there.

Connecting your own system through the API

Automate AI has no ready-made connector for courier aggregators or transport management systems (TMS). Its integrations include Shopify, for a merchant’s own orders. If you have your own TMS or a developer, the REST API can send a message when a shipment’s status changes:

1. Get approved templates in Automate AI, one for each status, and get each template’s ID from GET /templates.
2. Create an API key on the Developer page. Owners and managers can do this, and a key is shown only once.
3. Save the contact. POST /contact-webhook/ingest adds or updates a contact from your system, using the key as a Bearer token. Sending needs a saved contact.
4. Send the template. POST /chats/<phone>/template takes the template ID and variables such as the consignment number. For a media header, pass a URL as header_image or header_document.
5. Listen for results. Add a developer webhook for message.status.update (sent, delivered, read, failed) and message.received (customer replies and button taps).

Automate AI’s webhook status is about the WhatsApp message, not the parcel. “Delivered” means the message reached the phone, so don’t feed it into your shipment status. Chatbots, the AI Assistant, lead capture, Shopify, and the REST API, SDKs and webhooks are included in Series 2, 3 and 4.

If your system can’t send requests, you can still work from the app. Send to groups as a campaign, or send a template to one person from the chat. For the Meta side of this, see sending templates with the API and Cloud API webhooks. For live tracking in chat, a chatbot’s Webhook step can send the consignment number to your own endpoint. The chatbot can’t show what your endpoint returns, so your system has to send the reply itself through the REST API, and your developer has to build and test that part.

What it costs

Each delivered template is charged by category and by the country of the receiving number. Replies inside the 24-hour window are service messages: each number gets 1,000 free a month, then Meta’s published rate applies. To keep bills down:

• Send fewer status messages. Booked, out for delivery, and delivered or failed are often enough.
• Keep them utility. Marketing costs more, so leave offers out of status updates.
• Let customers choose. Someone who wants every scan can have a tracking link instead.

See pricing for plans and message rates, and WhatsApp API pricing for other countries. Figures for your volume depend on your routes and how many messages you send per parcel, so work them out from your own numbers.