Fast Company – May 2019

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talented employees who received offers from top technology companies but chose
Lineage instead. “We give these hyper-intelligent, highly effective people the
oppor t u n it y to ma ke a n impac t on a ta ng ible business rat her t ha n just on a website
or computer screen,” Lehmkuhl says.
Lineage’s innovation was on display when a customer crop yielded an unprec-
edented volume of fruit—too much to freeze within the required timeframe. To
solve the problem, Lineage’s team borrowed algorithms from the aerospace and
automotive industries to redesign the facility’s blast cell air f low to optimize its
freezing capacity, saving the fruit from spoiling, which allowed the customer to
use them in future products and reap the profits.

SERVING CUSTOMERS LARGE AND SMALL
As part of its purpose to transform the food supply chain to eliminate waste and feed
the world, Lineage partners with customers large and small, from leading brands like
Walmart and Tyson, to small farms and mom-and-pop food and retail businesses.
And new options are on the immediate horizon. Lehmkuhl points to the impend-
ing introduction of Lineage Link. For the first time, as a result of the data Lineage
gathers from its warehouses, combined with extensive analytical capabilities, Lin-
eage Link will allow customers to have “farm-to-fork” visibility. Customers will be
able to track and book shipments whether they’re in the warehouse or in transit,
allowing better inventory control across the entire supply chain.
Lineage Link will also partner with customers to optimize their truck usage (and
maximize profits) by running fewer and fewer empty trucks, somewhat like “an
Uber for temperature-controlled food.” Using artificial intelligence and machine
learning, the new system can recommend that customer shipments be combined
and transported together to reduce transportation costs and increase efficiency.
“Customers will be able to hit a button, streamline costs, and reduce a ton of
wasted miles on the road,” he says. “There’s nothing like it in the industry today.”

FIGHTING HUNGER
Through a new partnership with
Feeding America, Lineage further
turns its mission into reality. Lineage
donates money, transportation assis-
tance, warehouse space, and industry
expertise to help the hunger-fighting
nonprofit. As employees see the impact
their work and the company’s partner-
ship have on their communities, their
motivation skyrockets.
“Our local teams are charged up to
further contribute to the communities
in which they work and live and use
that as the catalyst,” he says. “Every
day, employees connect with the
impact of their work and how it helps
feed the world.”

At Lineage Logistics’ 160–plus
locations worldwide, you’ll
find bustling warehouses
with trucks, railroad cars, and
cargo ships coming and going. While
most people may not know what hap-
pens inside, employees will happily tell
you Lineage’s purpose: “To transform
the food supply chain to eliminate
waste and feed the world.”
Since its founding in 2008, Lineage
has become one of the world’s largest
temperature-controlled warehousing
and logistics companies, says Greg
Lehmkuhl, president and CEO. Merg-
ing Silicon Valley innovation with the
old-world business of temperature-con-
trolled logistics, Lineage stores and
moves food around the world. The
company was ranked No. 23 on Fast
Company’s Top 50 Most Innovative
Companies, and No. 1 in the Data Sci-
ence category.

PURPOSE-DRIVEN INNOVATION
Lineage’s growth is fueled by acquiring
companies whose locations and capa-
bilities help meet customer’s demands.
Through those assets, Lineage draws
on more t ha n 10 0 yea rs of ex per ience in
handling every commodity. Lehmkuhl’s
goal is to reduce the staggering amount
of food wasted worldwide—the U.S.
alone wastes 40% of food each year. In
response, Lineage’s team of technolo-
gists and San Francisco–based physicists,
engineers, mathematicians, and biol-
ogists develop new technologies and
approaches to keep food safe throughout
all stages of the supply chain. For exam-
ple, a typical warehouse might have four
temperature sensors, but a Lineage ware-
house might have 1,000 sensors to ensure
food is stored at optimal temperatures
before it’s delivered to market.
Lineage’s purpose-driven culture
and appetite for innovation attract

Silicon Valley Meets


Our Nation’s Heartland


THE WORLD’S LARGEST TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED WAREHOUSING AND LOGISTICS COMPANY
IS ON A MISSION TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE AND HELP FEED THE WORLD.

CRE ATED BY FASTCO WORKS CONTENT STUDIO AND COMMISSIONED BY

LINEAGE COOL
PORT OAKLAND
is the anchor
of Northern
California's
temperature-
controlled cargo
transitioning
through the Port
of Oakland.
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