"The parcel data was entered into the GLS IT system; the parcel was not yet handed over to GLS." is the first line GLS Track & Trace shows on most parcels, and the one people paste into Google whole, because it is a sentence that says the parcel has not started. Its sibling, "The parcel was handed over to GLS.", is the line that ends it. This page explains what each records, the normal gap between them, how long the first one sits before it is a problem, how GLS's own glossary and country pages word the same two states, and what to do. GLS's wording is taken from its glossary pages and its parcel-status guide, fetched on 2026-10-22, and the full GLS sequence is in GLS tracking statuses.
Short answer: The first line means the sender has registered the shipment electronically and GLS has the data, but GLS has not received the parcel. GLS's glossary calls the same state "Preadvice": "this status indicates that the data for this parcel has been created electronically. The parcel has not been physically handed over to GLS at this time, this will happen in the next step". Its Spanish-site guide calls it "Label created": "we have received the pre-registration of your shipment, but we have not yet physically received the parcel at our facilities." "The parcel was handed over to GLS." is the first physical scan, which the glossary describes as "the parcel has been physically handed over to GLS. The parcel will now be routed via the relevant parcel centers". The gap between the two is the time between the label being printed and the handover; GLS's own guidance is that if the status does not update "after a few days", the sender has not handed the parcel over, and to contact the retailer.
What the first line records
Before a GLS parcel moves, the sender's shipping system sends GLS the parcel's data: addresses, service, weight, label number. GLS acknowledges it, creates the tracking record and shows the line. It is a data event, not a physical one: a label exists and the parcel is with the sender, on a pallet waiting for the pickup, or in a drop-off bag not yet scanned. GLS's glossary entry for the same state, "Preadvice", says exactly that, and its guide to parcel statuses says of "Label created" that GLS has "received the pre-registration of your shipment, but we have not yet physically received the parcel at our facilities". On the GLS hub's table this is the row "Data received / entered into GLS system": label exists, not scanned yet.
The generic version on every carrier is "shipment information received", which means the seller has created the shipping label and sent the carrier the parcel's electronic details but the carrier has not picked it up or scanned it; the pattern across carriers is in what does shipment information received mean.
What "the parcel was handed over to GLS" records
This is the first physical scan: GLS has taken the parcel in, at a depot, from a pickup or at a ParcelShop. GLS's glossary describes the state as "In transit: the parcel has been physically handed over to GLS. The parcel will now be routed via the relevant parcel centers until it arrives at the final parcel center", and its guide calls it "Shipment collected by GLS: your parcel is already somewhere within our network and the delivery process is about to begin". From here the sequence is "In transit", "Final parcel center" or "Inbound to delivery depot", "In delivery" (out for delivery today), "Delivered"; the hub walks through each, with the statuses that need you ("Delivery not possible", "Handed over to a ParcelShop" when unexpected, "Returned to sender").
The normal gap between the two
The gap is the time between the sender printing the label and GLS receiving the parcel. GLS does not publish a figure for it, because it depends on the sender: hours when the parcel is packed and collected the same day, a day or two when the label is printed early or the parcel waits for a scheduled pickup, longer over a weekend or when a drop-off bag is not scanned until the next collection. The GLS hub's rule of thumb is that if the first line lasts more than a business day, the parcel has not been handed over; the pattern of a label that exists while nothing moves, and what to ask the sender, is in shipping label created but not moving.
How long before it is a problem
GLS's guide answers this directly: "If your shipment shows 'Label created' and the status doesn't update after a few days, it means the sender has provided the shipment information, but the parcel has not yet entered our network. In this case, we recommend contacting your retailer directly, as they can confirm when the parcel will be handed over to GLS. Once they do, the tracking information will update automatically." So the threshold is a few days, the party to ask is the sender, and the question to ask is when the parcel was or will be handed over.
GLS's own wording in other countries
GLS Track & Trace shows the two lines in the language of the country site, and the glossary entries are the same states under different names:
| Where | The pre-advice state | The handover state |
|---|---|---|
| GLS Track & Trace (English) | "The parcel data was entered into the GLS IT system; the parcel was not yet handed over to GLS." | "The parcel was handed over to GLS." |
| GLS glossary (gls-pakete.de, GLS Austria) | "Preadvice: this status indicates that the data for this parcel has been created electronically. The parcel has not been physically handed over to GLS at this time" | "In transit: the parcel has been physically handed over to GLS" |
| GLS Spain parcel-status guide (English) | "Label created: this means we have received the pre-registration of your shipment, but we have not yet physically received the parcel at our facilities" | "Shipment collected by GLS: your parcel is already somewhere within our network and the delivery process is about to begin" |
| GLS Italy FAQ | Not described; the Italian FAQ documents the delivery-side statuses ("SPEDIZIONE NON CONSEGNATA", "IN GIACENZA", "RIFIUTATA", "INDIRIZZO INCOMPLETO O ERRATO") and that route information is recorded "ogni qualvolta un'etichetta viene letta dal sistema GLS", each time a label is read by the GLS system | Not described separately |
GLS's German and Spanish-language glossary pages did not render for us on 2026-10-22, so no German or Spanish status text is quoted here; the English pages above are GLS's own. For a brand shipping into Italy, where GLS is one of the main parcel carriers, the Italian delivery-side statuses and what they require are set out in shipping to Italy.
When to act
- The first line appears and sits for a day or two. Normal: the label exists and the parcel is between the sender and GLS's first scan.
- A few days with no change. GLS's own advice: contact the retailer, who can confirm when the parcel will be handed over; the tracking updates automatically once it is.
- "The parcel was handed over to GLS", then quiet. Normal for a day between depots; the hub covers the in-transit stages.
- "Delivery not possible" or a ParcelShop you did not choose. Follow the GLS notification; the hub explains both.
- Delivered, nothing received. Check the ParcelShop, the neighbour and the safe place named in the scan, then the sender the same day; the checklist is in package says delivered but not received.
For merchants
This status is the gap between printing a GLS label and GLS's first scan, and GLS writes it as a sentence that customers read as "nothing has happened". A brand that prints labels in batches before the parcels are packed, or that lets drop-off bags wait for the next collection, makes the gap longer. The fix is operational and then verbal: print the label at the bench when the parcel is packed, hand over the same day, and show the customer a status that says "label created, with GLS soon" instead of GLS's sentence. Pango runs pick and pack, label printing and tracking on one order record, so the label is printed when the parcel is packed and GLS's first scan closes the gap on the same record, and the brand's tracking page shows the stage in plain words. If this status is generating tickets, the options to compare are in carrier management software.
The bottom line
The first GLS line is the label, not the parcel: the data is in GLS's system and the parcel is still with the sender. "The parcel was handed over to GLS" is the parcel. The gap between them belongs to the sender, GLS's own threshold is a few days, and the sender is the one to ask.
