Extract data from shipping labels
Unstract reads parcel, LTL pallet and return labels from dock photos and scans, turns each label into the carrier, tracking number, PO and weight, and sends the receipt to your WMS or ERP.
box 2 of 2 not on trailer — Dev
HARBORLINE LABEL 4X6 · REV 2025
{ "carrier": "Harborline Parcel", "tracking_number": "HL 7704 2918 3650", "service_level": "Ground", "ship_date": "30 Oct 2026", "ship_from": "Cedarloom Textiles", "ship_to": "Riverstone Fulfillment", "weight_lbs": 14.2, "dimensions_in": "18 x 14 x 10", "package": "1 of 2", "po_number": "PO-58213"}
Trusted by logistics and supply chain teams around the globe
Labels reach receiving crumpled, angled and half covered in tape
Nobody at the dock gets a clean label file. A receiving clerk works from phone photos, scans and carrier exports like these.
Shot on a phone at the dock door, with glare across the address
A parcel label, an LTL pallet label and a return label for one order
PO numbers and piece counts added in marker by the shipper
Every label photo from one trailer, with its packing list and BOL
Carrier manifests and SSCC pallet labels from each supplier
Clerks retype tracking and PO numbers from each box, and a mistyped PO leaves the stock sitting unreceived on the dock while orders wait for it.
Unstract reads each label photo, pulls the fields your receiving team needs, checks the PO and quantities against the ASN, and posts the receipt to your WMS or ERP.
Read, extract and automate label intake at the dock
Parsing, extraction and automation are three products that each work on their own. Pick the one receiving needs first and add the others as the parcel count grows.
Shipping label OCR that keeps every block of the label in place
A label packs ship-from, ship-to, service, weight and tracking into a four-by-six inch space, and the copy you get is often a tilted phone photo. LLMWhisperer straightens and reads it with each block kept apart, so the sender's address never runs into the recipient's and the human-readable tracking line stays whole.
Pass the text to your own LLM, or use parsing as the first step of a larger receiving or returns process.
Learn more about LLMWhispererA shipping label data extractor that returns one record per box
Name the label fields you need in a prompt and every label comes back as JSON in a single schema: parcel, LTL pallet, GS1-128 pallet or return. A new carrier needs no template: its labels go through the same data extraction for shipping labels as every other carrier's. A PO that is not open or a weight that disagrees with the packing list comes back flagged.
Deploy it as an API your scanning app calls, as an ETL pipeline over a folder of dock photos, or as one step in a receiving run.
Learn more about Document StudioRun shipment intake from the dock photo to the posted receipt
Describe how your team receives labelled freight in plain English and Flow's agents build the workflow: shipping labels photographed at the dock, matched with the packing list, BOL and ASN for the same shipment, read, checked and posted. The receipt lands in your WMS, such as Manhattan Active WM or Blue Yonder, the carrier record in your TMS, and the received lines in your ERP, such as NetSuite. You approve the workflow once, and every trailer runs through it the same way.
Tell it where to stop: a box short against the ASN, a PO on the label that is not open, a label it could not read with confidence. Those boxes go to a receiving clerk with the photo and the reason side by side.
Learn more about FlowExtract from your own labels today. Automate receiving later.
Start for free and upload a few label photos to see the fields come back. Automating dock intake and returns begins with a consultation.
Parcel, pallet and return labels in one record
Documents
- Parcel shipping labels
- LTL and pallet labels
- GS1-128 and SSCC pallet labels
- Return shipping labels
- Carton and case labels
- Hazmat and handling labels
- Packing slips
- Packing lists
- Bills of lading
- Advance ship notices
- Carrier manifests
- Proof of delivery receipts
- Commercial invoices
- Any other carrier's label layout
Fields captured
For the people who open the boxes
Label photos read as the pallets come off the trailer, so short boxes and wrong POs surface before the stock is put away.
Inbound labels from every client's suppliers read into one schema, so receiving is billed and reported per client without retyping.
GS1-128 pallet labels read against the supplier's ASN, so SSCCs and piece counts are confirmed before the pallet reaches its location.
Return labels read as parcels come back, so the refund or restock starts from the RMA and order number on the box.
Fewer keystrokes at the dock, faster receipts
Protecting the names and home addresses on every parcel
Every parcel label prints a recipient's full name and, for most e-commerce and return parcels, a home address. A folder of label photos is a list of real people, where they live and what they ordered, which is exactly what parcel thieves and phishing crews look for.
- Label photos and scans encrypted in transit and at rest.
- Labels and the addresses on them are never used to train models.
- Access by role, site and client, with every corrected field and released exception logged against the tracking number.
- Retention you set: label photos are deleted on the schedule your client contracts and privacy rules require.
- 3PLs whose clients require recipient data to stay in-house can run Unstract self-hosted.
What warehouse, 3PL and returns teams ask first
Photograph or scan the label, then send the image to Unstract. LLMWhisperer reads the photo with each block of the label kept apart, and Document Studio returns the carrier, tracking number, ship-to, PO, weight and dimensions as JSON. Send one photo through the API, or drop a whole trailer's photos into a watched folder.
One that reads every carrier's layout into the same record without a template per carrier. Document Studio maps the fields by meaning, so a parcel label, a pallet label and a return label all come back with the same keys, and a value it is unsure of goes to a person instead of into your WMS.
Unstract splits the job in three. LLMWhisperer is the OCR layer: it turns the label image into layout-preserved text and is not an LLM. Document Studio uses LLMs to pull the fields you named from that text. Flow's agents run the receiving process around both.
No. Unstract is software, not scanner hardware. It reads label images your team already captures: phone photos at the dock, flatbed scans, PDFs from a carrier portal or images from your existing handheld devices. Keep the scanners you have and send their images to Unstract.
Yes. As a shipping label parser, LLMWhisperer returns the label as text with its layout kept, and Document Studio deploys an endpoint for your label schema: POST the image, get the fields back as JSON. Call it from your receiving app or a script.
Unstract reads the printed text on the label, including the human-readable line under the barcode, which carries the tracking number or SSCC. Labels whose human-readable line is covered or torn go to a person to confirm.
Yes. SSCC, GTIN, lot number and piece count come off GS1-128 pallet labels, and freight class, pro number and pallet count come off LTL labels, all in the same schema as parcel labels.
Yes. It reads the RMA or return authorization number, the original order number and the sender on each returned parcel, so the refund or restock decision starts from the label rather than a search.
That box waits in a review queue. A clerk sees the extracted field beside the spot on the photo it came from, then approves, corrects or rejects it. Every decision is logged, and the rest of the trailer keeps moving.
Unstract is SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR and HIPAA compliant. Label photos are encrypted, never used for training and kept only as long as you choose. 3PLs with strict client terms can self-host; the Trust Center lists every control.
Extraction can start today: sign up free and upload a few label photos. For Flow, a consultation sets up intake around your carriers, your checks and your WMS or ERP, and most teams receive live shipments through it within days.
Bring a day of dock photos to the consultation
Parcel labels, pallet labels and return labels, glare and tape included. You watch each label read on screen, with the PO and box count checked against your ASN.