Logistics & Delivery

Test strategies for shipment tracking, route optimisation, driver apps, warehouse management, and delivery notification systems.

Domain Overview

Logistics systems are event-driven and geolocation-heavy. Testing covers real-time tracking updates via SSE or WebSocket, geofence triggers that fire on driver position changes, ETAs that recalculate dynamically, and the multi-party nature of a delivery (sender, carrier, recipient). The tracking widget is typically the highest-traffic public-facing feature — often serving millions of anonymous users with no authentication.

Typical stack: Node.js or Go event bus, Redis Streams or Kafka for tracking events, PostgreSQL for shipment records, AWS SNS/SES for notifications, Google Maps Platform or HERE for routing, S3 for proof-of-delivery assets.

The low E2E share (10%) reflects that tracking logic (ETA, geofence, routing) is algorithmic and best tested at unit/integration level — E2E is for the customer-facing tracking page and returns initiation flow.

Key Test Areas

Test Pyramid for Logistics & Delivery

Unit (55%):        ETA calculation, route scoring, geofence polygon logic, parcel ID normalisation
Integration (35%): Tracking event API pipeline, notification triggers, geofence webhooks, signature upload
E2E (10%):         Customer tracking page, returns initiation, parcel lookup edge cases

Critical E2E tests (must pass before every deploy):

1. Parcel lookup returns correct status timeline for a known tracking number
2. Status change event triggers SMS and email notification within SLA
3. Returns flow generates QR code and registers drop-off intent
4. Tracking page renders correctly with no events (pre-collection state)
5. ETA displays correctly when delivery is past the original estimate

Common Failure Scenarios

1. Tracking page shows "Out for delivery" but event webhook not delivered → stale status
   Test: post status-change event via API, reload tracking page, assert new status visible within timeout

2. ETA countdown shows negative time (delivery past ETA not handled in UI)
   Test: mock API to return pastDueEta, assert UI shows "Delayed" or a positive elapsed message, not "-00:12"

3. Signature capture image not saved (S3 upload timeout silently swallowed)
   Test: intercept S3 upload with page.route(), return a timeout, complete delivery flow, assert error shown to driver

4. Returns QR code expires before customer reaches drop-off (short TTL)
   Test: generate QR code, advance clock past TTL with page.clock.set(), attempt to scan, assert expiry error

5. Parcel ID lookup is case-sensitive (AB123 fails when user enters ab123)
   Test: look up tracking number in lowercase, mixed case, and uppercase, assert all return same result

Playwright Patterns for Logistics

// Mock geolocation API for driver position updates
test('tracking map updates when driver position changes', async ({ page, context }) => {
  await context.grantPermissions(['geolocation']);
  await context.setGeolocation({ latitude: 51.5074, longitude: -0.1278 });

  await page.goto('/track/AB123456');
  const initialPin = await page.locator('[data-testid="driver-pin"]').boundingBox();

  // Simulate driver moving
  await context.setGeolocation({ latitude: 51.5150, longitude: -0.1200 });
  await page.waitForTimeout(2000); // allow SSE update

  const updatedPin = await page.locator('[data-testid="driver-pin"]').boundingBox();
  expect(updatedPin?.x).not.toEqual(initialPin?.x);
});

// Test tracking page with intercepted SSE stream
test('tracking page reflects live status update via SSE', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.route('**/api/track/*/stream', route => {
    route.fulfill({
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'text/event-stream', 'Cache-Control': 'no-cache' },
      body: 'data: {"status":"OUT_FOR_DELIVERY","eta":"14:30"}\n\n'
    });
  });

  await page.goto('/track/AB123456');
  await expect(page.getByText('Out for delivery')).toBeVisible();
  await expect(page.getByText('14:30')).toBeVisible();
});

// Test parcel lookup case-insensitivity
test('parcel lookup is case-insensitive', async ({ page }) => {
  for (const input of ['AB123456', 'ab123456', 'Ab123456']) {
    await page.goto('/track');
    await page.getByLabel('Tracking number').fill(input);
    await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Track' }).click();
    await expect(page.getByTestId('status-timeline')).toBeVisible();
  }
});