Patent ID: 8108458

Claim:
A computer-implemented method comprising steps, performed by one or more processors, of: receiving, from a sender, a selection of a contact related to a shipping request to ship a package, wherein: the contact is associated with a contact identifier comprising a telephone number of the contact; and the sender is associated with a sender identifier comprising a telephone number of the sender; identifying package shipping data associated with the contact; providing the shipping request, including the package shipping data, to a shipping provider; receiving a package identifier related to the shipping request from the shipping provider; associating the package identifier with the sender identifier and the contact identifier; obtaining first notification information corresponding to the sender identifier and second notification information corresponding to the contact identifier, wherein: the first notification information identifies a first communications device of the sender and a first mode of communications associated with the first communications device; and the second notification information identifies a second communications device of the contact and a second mode of communications associated with the second communications device; and providing a status of the package to the first communications device in accordance with the first communications mode and to the second communications device in accordance with the second communications mode, the providing comprising: retrieving the status of the package based on at least the telephone number of the contact; and providing a geographic representation to the first and second communications devices, the geographic representation comprising an indication of a current location of the package relative to features of the geographic representation, wherein: the providing further comprises at least one of providing the status via a notification generated at a predetermined interval, or providing the status in response to a status request from the sender or the contact; and the notification further prompts the sender or the contact, whomever did not make said status request, to establish communications between the first and second communication devices.