Both UPS and the USPS offer tracking of packages and parcels. In fact the truth is the UPS tracking comes as standard and at any time in the process you know exactly where your parcel is and when it will get to you or the person you are sending it to. I think we really take this tracking for granted as really it was only a decade or so ago when there wasn’t really any tracking that we couold see at the touch of a button.
Each parcel is given a barcode from the moment it is collected by the UPS driver and this is scanned in whenever the parcel goes from one location to the next. So you can see when your parcel gets to the depot and when it goes out in the delivery van. If you are expecting a parcel then with UPS tracking you can tell when it is on its way to you.
USPS tracking however, does not have such a good reputation with tales of tracking not working and systems not giving the right information. The USPS Tracking has its own tracking service called the Confirm service which gives customers access to processing data for both outgoing and incoming parcels and other types of mail. However, customers need to register for this kind of data and it is more geared to businesses than to individuals.