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Track MCP

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Mohammad Abbas
Updated

Track MCP connects an AI agent, such as Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, or Gemini, to your nShift Track data. Ask about a shipment or your shipment data in plain language, so you get an answer without searching, filtering, or exporting a report first.

When to use this

Use Track MCP when you want an answer from your shipment data without leaving your AI agent. For example, to:

  • Check the status of a shipment when a customer asks where it is.
  • Compare carriers by volume and exceptions without building a report.
  • Follow shipment volumes by carrier, service, and period.
  • Find carrier exceptions by carrier and receiver country.

You and your colleagues get these answers in the same conversation, without switching between Track, reports, and spreadsheets.

Example: a weekly shipping briefing built with Track MCP. Sample data.

Key concepts

MCP: Model Context Protocol, an open standard for connecting AI agents to tools and data. Track MCP is how your agent reaches your Track data.

MCP client: the connection that represents your AI agent in nShift Portal. A client is created for your agent the first time you connect, and you approve it as part of connecting.

public_track_mcp: the permission that allows an MCP client to use Track MCP.

Before you begin

You need:

  • An nShift Portal account.
  • The Track MCP server URL: https://mcp.nshiftportal.com/track/trackmcp/mcp

Connect an AI agent

Connect your AI agent to Track MCP so it can answer questions about your shipments.

Steps

  1. In your AI agent, go to the settings for connectors or MCP servers.
  2. Add a connector and enter the Track MCP server URL.
  3. Start the connection.

Note
Your AI agent can show its own confirmation screens while you connect. Follow the prompts to continue. For example, Claude asks you to confirm that you started the connection.

  1. Log in with your nShift Portal account.
  2. On the Review & Approve DCR Client page, select Approve.
  3. On the permission page, select Yes, Allow.

Result

Your agent is connected to Track MCP and ready for questions.

Next step

Test the connection with a shipment you know. For example, ask "What's the status of order 12345?"

Create an MCP client

Create the MCP client yourself if you want to manage it instead of relying on automatic creation.

Steps

  1. Go to nShift Settings > API Configuration > Clients.
  2. Select Add.
  3. Add public_track_mcp in Allowed Scopes.

Result

The MCP client is created with the public_track_mcp scope.

Remove an MCP client

Remove the MCP client to stop an AI agent from accessing Track MCP.

Steps

  1. Go to nShift Settings > API Configuration > Clients.
  2. Find the client for your AI agent and delete it.

Result

The AI agent no longer has access to Track MCP. To use it again, connect the agent as described in Connect an AI agent.

Available tools

Your agent picks the right tool for each question. Track MCP includes these tools.

Tool What it does
search_shipments Looks up a single shipment by barcode or order number from the last 31 days, so you can check its status
list_available_filters Lists the carriers, member accounts, and statuses you can filter on
get_shipments_report Returns shipment rows for a date range, with optional carrier, member account, status, and direction filters
get_shipments_count Returns the number of shipments that match your filters, without row data, for totals
get_shipments_statistics Returns monthly shipment and package volumes by carrier and service, filterable by member account, so you can compare volumes over time

Important
Some tools apply limits. Shipment rows cover up to 92 days and 1,000 rows per query, counts cover up to 1 year, and statistics cover up to 13 months. For broad questions, your agent may return only part of the data, so narrow the question by carrier, member account, or date range.

Example questions

Shipment status

Ask your agent to look up a shipment by barcode or order number and get its current status.

  • What's the status of order 12345?
  • Has shipment 123456 been delivered yet?

Shipment data

Your agent can query your shipment data and answer questions that would otherwise need a report export and a spreadsheet.

  • Compare our shipment volumes by carrier this quarter versus last quarter.
  • Show me exceptions by carrier and by receiver country for the last quarter.
  • How many packages did our Norway member account ship last quarter?
  • How many return shipments did we have last month?
  • Which shipments from the last 7 days are still in transit?
Example: exploring shipment volumes year over year by carrier and service. Sample data.

Related topics

Using nShift Companion in nShift Track: look up shipments from inside Track

Track functionalities list: see which Track features are included in your plan

Note
Shipment search is available on the Essential, Professional, and Premium plans. The other tools are available on the Professional and Premium plans.