dave-in-nj:
we can help you with your product selections and guide you on your programming needs.
it was pointed out that there are a number of devices on the market to help track packages. if none of them fit your needs, or you just want to make your own, here is a simple starting list of options.
main boards :
pro-mini
Nano
wemos D-1
pros's smaller in sizes, lots of pins
sensors ;
vibrations
shocks
temperature
gyroscope for angles
atmospheric pressure
humidity
real time clock
GPS
there can be lots more, some have good points
the GPS may not work for a large portion of the journey, but may work inside of open warehouses revealing where it traveled. information could be valuable.
list what you think you would want to have and let us know what your questions are.
Yes thanks, sorry - nothing personal - but I'm beginning to regret asking 
I've built several projects with Arduinos before so I'm not a newbie. I just thought it might be an interesting discussion on what could be done and thanks to the people, such as yourself, who have tried.
But it's the busiest time of the year and I'm overworked as it is so I'm finding it difficult to find the time to go through everything here - and reply when there is a 5 minute delay before I'm allowed to post again - when half the answers (seem to be) needless questions or unrealistic suggestions that might be useful to someone starting out but are not what I need to hear.
Sorry, that sounds really miserable I'll read through the thread again when I find a bit of spare time and I'll knock something together to get the ball rolling. I have enough boards and components here to do most of the features already.
Thanks