Asendia moves cross-border ecommerce parcels between countries and then hands them to a local carrier for the final delivery. That handover model is exactly why its tracking confuses people: parcels go quiet for days in the middle, and the tracking number often changes hands. Here is what each status means.
Short answer: Asendia is a cross-border delivery company that carries parcels internationally and hands them to a local postal or parcel carrier for final delivery. "Item received" means it entered Asendia's network, "in transit to destination country" is the long international leg where tracking is quiet for days, "customs clearance" is the border stage, and "handed over to local carrier" means the final delivery is now with another carrier, whose tracking takes over. Quiet stretches of several days are normal on international routes.
Asendia statuses at a glance
| Status | What it means | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-advice / data received | Label created, parcel not collected | Wait |
| Item received / collected | In Asendia's network | None |
| Processed at facility / departed | Moving to the international leg | None |
| In transit to destination country | Long international leg, quiet | None (days is normal) |
| Arrived in destination country | Landed, heading to customs or sorting | None |
| Customs clearance | At the border | Pay any duty request |
| Handed over to local carrier | Final delivery with another carrier | Track with the local carrier |
| Delivered | Done | Check if not received |
The normal Asendia journey
Pre-advice / item received. The retailer created the shipment and Asendia has the data, then physically takes the parcel in. Nothing unusual here.
In transit to destination country. The long leg, by air or road, between countries. This is where Asendia tracking most often looks frozen: the parcel is genuinely travelling and there is nothing to scan between departure and arrival. Several days without an update is normal, not a problem, and the same quiet you see with any in-transit status.
Arrived in destination country / customs clearance. The parcel lands and enters the border process. Most clear quickly, but a duty or documentation request can hold it. See how long customs clearance takes and package stuck in customs.
Handed over to local carrier. The key Asendia moment: final delivery passes to a local carrier, for example Royal Mail, USPS, Canada Post, or a local parcel network. From here, that carrier's statuses and, sometimes, a different tracking number apply. If Asendia tracking goes silent after this point, look at the local carrier.
The statuses that need action
Customs clearance with a charge. If duty or VAT is owed, the parcel waits until it is paid, usually via a link from the delivering carrier. This is the most common genuine hold on an Asendia parcel.
Handed to local carrier, then silence. Not a fault, just a handover. Track with the local carrier, whose wording is covered in guides like Royal Mail, USPS, and Canada Post.
Returned to sender. After an uncollected hold, an unpaid duty, or an undeliverable address. Contact the retailer for a refund or reship.
The merchant view: handover carriers break tracking pages
Cross-border handover models like Asendia's are the hardest case for a tracking page: one shipment, two or more carriers, a quiet middle, a customs stage, and sometimes a changing tracking number. Show that raw and customers assume the parcel is lost, which is why cross-border shipping generates outsized support volume.
Pango connects Asendia alongside the local carriers it hands to, through prebuilt connectors across 100+ carriers, and stitches the legs into one normalized timeline on your own branded page, so the customer sees a single journey rather than two disconnected tracking numbers. Quiet international legs get a reassuring proactive update, and a customs charge becomes a clear instruction instead of a silent hold.
The bottom line
Asendia carries parcels across borders and hands them to a local carrier, so its tracking has a quiet international middle, a customs stage, and a handover after which another carrier's statuses take over. None of that means a lost parcel. For merchants, stitching the legs into one timeline is what keeps cross-border from flooding support. See how it works on the post-purchase operations platform and book a demo.
