You’re expecting a delivery from UPS and have received an “Arrival Scan“ tracking update.
What does this mean exactly? Where is your package when you receive this alert and what do you do if the tracking is stuck?
Let’s take a look…
Summary: Arrival Scan UPS
The “Arrival Scan” tracking alert from UPS means that your package has arrived at a UPS sorting facility. The update can be triggered several times throughout the shipment journey as the package will be processed through more than one facility on its way to the destination address.
Arrival Scan UPS – Guide
Essentially, every time your package arrives at a UPS facility for sortation, the “Arrival Scan” update should be triggered.
It is actually helpful to know that the alert is triggered as the truck carrying the mail item arrives at the facility, not at the point the package is unloaded and scanned.
In other words, each of the packages on that particular vehicle will be stated as having arrived with the update being sent accordingly.
The package will then be unloaded along with all the other items on the truck and will be sorted as they make their way through the facility.
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So Which Facility has my Package Arrived At?
Every time the update is triggered, the line below it within the tracking page will contain details of the location.
The first time you see the arrival scan update will be when your package arrives at the origin facility close to the sender.
After the sortation, it will be dispatched to another facility closer to the destination address.
When it arrives there, the “Arrival Scan” update will be triggered once more.
Unless the origin and destination are in the same region, a package will pass through a minimum of two facilities on the way to the recipient.
More often than not it will actually pass through three.
The final time you see the arrival scan it will be the facility in the region of the destination address.
This means that upon leaving this facility, the package will be “out for delivery”.
Tracking Stuck on “Arrival Scan” UPS
There is a very good chance you have reached this article because your UPS tracking is stuck on Arrival Scan.
Firstly, it is worthwhile remembering that you will not receive another scan until the package leaves the facility, (at which point your tracking should read: “Departure Scan”.
The time it takes for a package to be processed through a facility can vary widely.
Seasonal mail volumes, potential sortation, technical issues, covid related staffing problems, (prevalent during the height of the pandemic obviously), can all impact the speed at which a package passes through the mail center.
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I would suggest (depending on the speed of the UPS shipping service purchased) that anything up to three days is not something to be concerned about.
Beyond that, however, you should contact UPS to see why the package is not moving.
The outcome will generally be one of the issues described above, or simply misplaced in the sorting facility.
Occasionally, the package may have gone out on the truck and the departure scan was not triggered for that particular consignment.
- Related Content: Hold at UPS Access Point Requested – Tracking Guide
Final Words
Overall, the “Arrival Scan” from UPS is a standard update that signifies that the package has arrived at a facility and is progressing through the delivery network.
The alert can be triggered several times throughout the shipment journey, (just check the accompanying tracking information to find out where), so you shouldn’t expect that delivery is imminent.
However, the fact the package is moving through the network as it should be is positive.
If the tracking is stuck for between 3 to 5 days, I recommend that you contact UPS to find out more.
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I’m a 25 year veteran of USPS. I’m retired now, but as the editor of Mailbox Master, I can’t quite remove myself from the carrier industry just yet. 🙂
