How Lineage Link® brings visibility and control to the cold chain

Modern cold chain operations are facing constant pressure. Inventory moves through complex networks of warehouses, carriers and facilities, even as demand shifts. The smallest delays, challenges and blind spots can have effects that ripple through the supply chain.

For companies managing temperature-sensitive products, accurate visibility is a must-have. Teams need to know where their inventory is, how shipments are moving and when facilities are ready to receive or distribute product.

Lineage Link® was designed to help meet those challenges. As Lineage’s unified customer platform, it connects warehouse, transportation and operational data into a single environment. The goal: to help customers monitor their inventory, manage their orders and coordinate their shipments across the Lineage network.

We spoke with Amanda Cook and Amy Donaldson from our Lineage Link® product team to answer common questions about how the platform works and what it helps customers do.

What is Lineage Link®?

Lineage Link® is our unified supply-chain platform. It is designed to connect Lineage’s network of warehouses and integrated transportation solutions to provide customers with visibility, collaboration opportunities and self-service capabilities.

The platform gives customers a centralized place to manage key parts of their cold chain operations. From inventory visibility to appointment scheduling and order management, Lineage Link® helps bring that data together. Data that would otherwise be spread across multiple systems.

How does Lineage Link® improve collaboration between Lineage and our customers?

Lineage Link® was developed to connect customers, carriers and Lineage team members under one umbrella. This connectivity helps enhance visibility, provide collaboration opportunities and increase operational efficiency across the global warehouse network.

Lineage Link® empowers customers to make informed, data-driven decisions around their operations by giving real time insights into their inventory, orders and shipments. Self-service features like our Order Management System and Public Scheduling allow customers and carriers to take independent action whenever it’s needed.

The platform is here to create a more collaborative environment that supports faster communication and better decision-making across their cold chain.

What visibility does Lineage Link® provide into cold storage inventory?

Lineage Link® offers customers comprehensive visibility into warehouse inventory, showing a breakdown of what is available, committed and on hold. Customers can also view the items on each order, as well as the statuses of each order and appointment. This level of visibility helps customers stay informed while supporting better planning and inventory management decisions.

With Lineage Link®, customers can:

• View your inventory across facilities, broken down by pallet, lot number and other customizable filters
• Identify inventory on hold, along with the reason for the hold
• Track your orders throughout their entire lifecycle, from open to completed
• Monitor your shipment activity, including warehouse events such as truck arrival, sign-in and loading start and finish times

How does Lineage Link® integrate with warehouse management systems?

Lineage Link® integrates seamlessly with warehouse management systems (WMS) to help ensure synchronized operations.

As the front end for scheduling, orders, inventory visibility and transportation activity, Lineage Link® feeds appointment and order data directly into the site’s WMS. Many of the fields within Lineage Link® are mapped to corresponding WMS fields. This includes order headers, line details, carrier information, appointment IDs, load types, freight types and contacts.

This level of integration allows data to flow consistently between systems, all while reducing manual entry and minimizing potential errors. By keeping these systems aligned in real time, teams can focus more on operations instead of data management.

How does Lineage Link® support transportation visibility?

The Lineage Link® platform provides customers with end-to-end transportation visibility for domestic shipments booked through Lineage’s Integrated Transportation Solutions.

That means customers can track their shipments from origin to destination in real time, including through key events and milestones along the journey. This level of visibility helps our customers stay informed and up to date on their shipment status while helping them improve downstream planning across warehouse and transportation operations.

Can carriers use Lineage Link® for appointment scheduling?

Yes. Lineage Link® includes a Public Scheduling platform baked into the tool, and it’s available to both customers and carriers alike. Public scheduling allows customers to self-schedule their inbound and outbound appointments, all in one place.

Each Lineage facility that is live with Public Scheduling establishes a slot schedule based on operational capacity. Customers and carriers can then select available appointment windows directly through the platform.

This self-service scheduling helps reduce the time-consuming manual coordination process while helping facilities maintain efficient scheduling and communication.

What kind of reporting and analytics does Lineage Link® offer?

Lineage Link® provides a range of real-time operational reports that can be customized based on customer needs.

Users can subscribe to reports and receive daily updates, helping them stay informed about warehouse activity, order status and operations. The customer dashboard gives users a centralized view of custom key performance indicators and operational metrics.

These reporting capabilities make it easier to monitor trends, keep an eye on performance and identify opportunities to improve supply chain operations.

Is Lineage Link® available globally?

Lineage Link is currently available at more than 200 facilities across eight countries, with its global footprint continuing to expand.

As Lineage grows its network and digital capabilities, the platform is being introduced to additional locations to help customers manage their supply chain activity across multiple regions through one unified interface.

Bringing clarity to complex cold chain operations

Cold chain operations involve constant movement. Food shippers and producers are constantly managing their products shifting between facilities, trucks arriving and departing and orders changing throughout the day. Without clear visibility, it can be difficult to keep everything aligned.

Lineage Link® helps bring those moving parts together into one easy-to-use platform. By connecting inventory data, shipment tracking, scheduling tools and reporting in one place, the platform gives customers a clearer view of what’s happening across their supply chain.

With better visibility into their operations, teams can make faster decisions, stay informed and keep product moving through the cold chain.