How to track a shipment — corporate merch in Portugal
From the moment boxes leave the Lisboa hub to proof-of-delivery at your office: 6 carriers, one consolidated dashboard, and escalation contacts if a parcel drifts off schedule across mainland, Madeira, Açores or EU.
Step 1 — Receive your tracking pack
At pickup we email a tracking pack: AWB number(s), carrier (CTT Expresso / DPD / DHL Express / UPS / GLS / Chronopost), expected delivery per address, link to carrier portal, our internal job number. Sent within 2 h of courier pickup at the Lisboa or Porto hub.
Step 2 — Use the carrier portal
CTT Expresso (cttexpresso.pt), DPD Portugal (dpd.com/pt/pt), DHL Express (dhl.com/pt-pt), UPS (ups.com/pt/en), GLS Portugal (gls-portugal.pt), Chronopost Portugal (chronopost.pt). Scan events: collected → in-transit → out-for-delivery → delivered with POD signature.
Step 3 — Split shipments to multiple addresses
If we split to N offices in Portugal — including Madeira (Funchal) and Açores (Ponta Delgada) — each address has its own AWB. The tracking pack maps AWB → ship-to → recipient → ETA. Filter by status to spot drift. Bulk download POD signatures via our customer portal.
Step 4 — Atlantic islands and EU cross-border
Madeira and Açores: special 22% / 16% IVA rate but no customs (still EU territory). 2–4 day delivery via CTT Expresso or DPD. Cross-border EU: no customs, CMR with the load, copy emailed within 24 h. Non-EU: CMR + EUR.1 + commercial invoice; DHL Express portal tracks across borders.
Step 5 — Proof of delivery
POD with recipient signature emailed automatically. For VIP gift drops we add a delivery photo (geo-tagged) on request, +5€ per address. POD archive retained 7 years for tax compliance.
Step 6 — Escalation
If a parcel sits at the same status >48 h, we open a tracer with the carrier. Escalation contacts: account-managed lines at CTT / DPD / DHL for our hub. 95% resolved within 24 h. If lost: full replacement at our cost (insurance up to 1 000€ included).
FAQ — tracking shipments from Portugal
Single tracking dashboard?
Yes — for accounts shipping >100 parcels/year we provision a portal with all AWBs across carriers in one view, with status filters and CSV export.
Recipient not at the address?
CTT Expresso retries next day, then holds at the local CTT post office for 8 days. DHL Express tries 3 times. "Leave with concierge" pre-set possible for office buildings.
Redirect mid-transit?
Yes via the carrier portal, fee 5–25€. For premium accounts we do it from our side at no extra cost.
Saturday delivery?
Yes — DHL Express and CTT Expresso offer Saturday delivery in Lisboa and Porto at +30–50% rate.
Direct booth drops?
For FIL Lisboa, Exponor Porto, Centro de Congressos do Estoril: our driver delivers direct to booth on setup day with hand-signed POD.