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Frequently asked questions and answers about digital logistics processes, dock & yard management and the TradeLink platform.
TradeLink is a digital platform for logistics processes related to planning and coordinating truck traffic at warehouse locations.
Companies use TradeLink to manage their Receipt of goods , incoming and outgoinign shipments and deliveries and transportation more efficiently — from Time slot booking, Dock & Yard Management to Incoming goods inspection.
The problem for many companies: Delays, lack of transparency and high manual effort in logistics lead to downtime, team stress and unnecessary costs.
TradeLink solves these problems by simply digitally connecting all parties involved — from suppliers to local logistics. In this way, processes run more smoothly, personnel are better planned and downtimes are reduced.
Time slot management is the digital planning of delivery and collection times at a location.
Freight forwarders and suppliers book a free time slot for their arrival in advance. In this way, traffic jams, waiting times and overloads in incoming or shipping goods can be avoided.
With digital time slot management, everyone involved knows exactly when which truck is coming. This enables better personnel and resource planning as well as smooth processes at the factory gate.
Digital time slot management brings transparency, predictability and efficiency to the yard and incoming goods process. Compared to manual coordination via telephone, e-mail or Excel, companies benefit from:
Fewer waiting times & traffic jams: Trucks come in stages and not all at the same time.
Better personnel planning: Shifts can be adapted to actual requirements.
More transparency: All participants can see in real time who is coming and when.
Automated communication: Fewer inquiries, as suppliers and carriers book themselves.
Data-based optimization: Analyze utilization, punctuality, and throughput for continuous improvement.
Manual processes are error-prone, time-consuming and often confusing — digital tools such as TradeLink provide clarity and efficiency here.
TradeLink is aimed at companies that want to make their logistics processes more efficient. This includes companies from trade, production and contract logistics (LSPs), which have to coordinate a large number of deliveries and collections.
Typical areas of application include transportation, incoming and shipping of goods to and from locations with high occupancy, limited yard or warehouse space, and high coordination efforts between suppliers, freight forwarders and internal teams.
Regardless of whether you are a medium-sized company or a large corporation — TradeLink brings added value wherever transparency, predictability and efficiency in logistics are important.
TradeLink measurably improves logistics processes at the factory gate — with benefits for all parties involved:
Fewer waiting times & downtimes
Digital time slot planning and yard management avoid traffic jams and idle times.
Relief for the logistics team
Fewer inquiries, clear processes, less stress — a real advantage, especially when there is a shortage of staff.
More transparency & controllability
All information about deliveries, delays and throughput in real time — for better decisions.
Better collaboration with partners
Suppliers, carriers and internal teams work together on one platform — without email chaos.
Sustainable process improvement
With data analyses, bottlenecks can be identified, processes optimized and KPIs sustainably improved.
Manual logistics processes are often based on phone calls, emails and Excel lists. Time slots are coordinated individually, information is scattered and changes quickly lead to misunderstandings.
The result: a lack of transparency, unpredictable arrivals, traffic jams at the yard and high coordination efforts within the logistics team.
TradeLink replaces these manual processes with a digital platform on which all parties involved — from suppliers to incoming goods — work together. Time slots are booked online, arrivals are transparently visible to everyone and communication is automated. This enables better planning, fewer waiting times and higher process reliability.
In addition, TradeLink provides real-time data and evaluations with which companies can continuously improve their logistics processes — something that is hardly possible with manual processes.
A time slot can be booked in two ways:
Booking by supplier or carrier:
- The supplier/carrier receives an invitation to the digital calendar.
- they select a free time window that suits their trip planning.
- The selected time window can then be checked and confirmed by the location.
Allocation by location:
- Alternatively, the location can directly allocate a time window to a supplier.
- The supplier receives an automatic notification of the assigned time window.
In both cases, all parties involved have immediate transparency about the planned arrival. Changes or cancellations are communicated in real time — without additional phone calls or emails.
Every logistics setup is different, which is why we tailor our pricing to meet your requirements.
We are happy to provide you with a non-binding offer — flexible and tailored to your needs. Just sign up here.
With TradeLink, all parties involved are informed of discrepancies in real time. This allows locations to react flexibly:
- Early arrival: If possible, the truck is allocated to a ramp directly — if there is still capacity available. Otherwise, they wait until the booked time slot.
- Delay: The time slot remains valid for now. The location sees the delay and can adjust personnel and processes. The time slot can also be adjusted directly.
TradeLink ensures that such discrepancies are transparent — for fewer surprises and easier planning.
The digital driver check-in makes arriving at the gate/ramp easy and quick:
1. Arrival at the gate: On arrival, the driver checks-in in one of 21 possible languages using a QR code — without any paper or long waiting times.
2. Automatic ramp allocation: The driver is directly assigned the correct ramp digitally.
3. Information in real time: The team immediately sees in the system that the truck has arrived and can plan the next steps.
The result: Fewer waiting times, less manual entry and a smooth process from gate to ramp.
TradeLink Driver check-in currently supports 21 languages — so drivers can simply check-in in their native language.
Because inefficient logistics processes at the gate cost time, money and nerves. TradeLink helps to easily digitally control these processes and make them more transparent.
With TradeLink, you benefit from:
- Predictable processes: Truck arrivals and pickups run smoothly instead of chaotically.
- Relieve your team: Less coordination effort, less stress in day-to-day business.
- Faster receipt of goods: Shorter downtime and better resource utilization.
- Transparency for everyone: Suppliers, carriers and internal teams work on one platform.
- Data for optimizations: You identify bottlenecks and measurably improve your processes.
In short: TradeLink makes your yard and logistics processes more efficient, predictable and relaxed.
TradeLink is based on easy collaboration and high acceptance by all partners — from suppliers to incoming goods.
The most important differences:
- Focus on collaboration: TradeLink brings all participants — suppliers, carriers, internal teams — together on one platform, instead of just optimizing processes internally.
- High partner acceptance: Suppliers and carriers use TradeLink free of charge and without much effort. This promotes widespread use and avoids parallel reconciliation via e-mail or telephone.
- Easy to implement & use: TradeLink is intuitive to use and ready to go quickly — without complicated training or IT projects.
- Holistic approach: In addition to booking time slots, TradeLink covers the entire process at the yard — from yard management to incoming goods inspection.
- Transparency for everyone: All participants have access to relevant information and status at any time — in real time and understandable to everyone.
In this way, TradeLink creates smooth processes with less coordination effort, better planning and happier partners.
With TradeLink, you bring all partners along the supply chain together on one platform — no new silos, but real collaboration.
Quick start, GDPR compliance, and continuous development make for a solution that adapts to your needs.
In addition, we work closely with our customers to continuously develop the platform.
TradeLink bundles all communication centrally on one platform.
- Invitations & time slot booking: Suppliers and freight forwarders automatically receive invitations and book their time slots themselves.
- Automatic notifications: Changes, delays, or check-in information are automatically shared in real time, without extra emails or phone calls.
- Open platform: Partners do not need their own account and use TradeLink free of charge — this is why acceptance is particularly high.
The result: Clear processes, less coordination effort and transparent processes for all parties involved.
With TradeLink, companies manage their yard and ramp processes digitally and transparently:
- Yard management: Overview of all vehicles on the site, control of entrance, waiting areas and departure.
- Dock Management: Digital allocation of ramps, control of loading and unloading processes, automatic status messages.
- Check in & check out: Contactless driver check-in, automatic barrier control and digital documentation.
- Real time overview: All relevant information about vehicles, time slots and ramp occupancy in a central view.
In this way, yard and incoming goods are managed efficiently, transparently and flexibly — for fewer downtimes and better utilization.
Yes, TradeLink provides features for load carrier management.
Companies can record and manage load carriers such as pallets, mesh boxes or containers in the incoming goods process. The platform documents which load carriers are carried or returned upon delivery.
This allows you to keep track of inventory and avoid shrinkage or shortages — directly integrated into the delivery process.
Yes, TradeLink has the Insights Cockpit, which provides real-time dashboards and customizable reports on all important logistics KPIs. You can monitor key figures such as throughput speed, downtime and punctuality, analyze historical data and derive data-based optimizations.
TradeLink also supports the evaluation of your suppliers using objective key figures — ideal for uncovering bottlenecks and improving collaboration based on data.
Yes, TradeLink is flexibly adaptable.
Companies can individually configure their own locations, processes and user roles. Booking rules, check-in processes and security queries can also be flexibly adapted to the respective requirements.
In addition, we have the intuitive config system developed: With it, you can in just a few minutes and without IT support Configure your own rules and processes — directly in the platform.
In addition, reports, dashboards and workflows can be set individually. This is how TradeLink adapts to your processes, not the other way around.
Yes, TradeLink offers a completely contactless Check-in for trucks.
Drivers register themselves upon arrival via a terminal, a QR code or a link — without handing over documents in person. In doing so, they select their language and simply enter the required data digitally.
This saves time, reduces waiting times and ensures a safe, hygienic process — especially at unoccupied or heavily frequented locations.
With TradeLink, companies typically reduce waiting times in the yard by 30-50%, in some cases as much as 78%.
By better coordinating time windows, arrival times and ramp availability, you avoid unnecessary downtime in front of the factory gate, on the farm and at the ramp.
The rollout of TradeLink is significantly faster than traditional solutions:
- Depending on complexity, the first locations can go live within 72 hours.
- A full rollout across multiple locations usually takes a few weeks, depending on the scope of processes and integrations.
We take over the majority of the technical equipment. Your team must coordinate process details and supervise test runs, especially during the initial workshops. The training courses are kept compact so that the specialist departments can get started quickly.
Not necessarily — TradeLink is a cloud solution. However, some customers still involve their IT selectively for topics such as:
- Integration into ERP/WMS
- Rights management (e.g. single sign-on)
- Data protection & compliance
If no system integration is required, TradeLink can also be introduced purely operationally.
Yes TradeLink is deliberately developed in such a way that external partners without IT integration be able to start directly. They have easy access via their browser and do not need to install any software. You don't even have to sign in, but you can do so if needed.
TradeLink can be easily connected to existing ERP and WMS systems via standardized interfaces (REST APIs) and flexible data formats (e.g. CSV, EDIFACT). Integrations with SAP, Microsoft Dynamics or Infor, for example, have already been implemented.
With TradeLink, companies measure and improve central logistics KPIs along incoming and outgoing goods. Typical KPIs are:
- Waiting time at the ramp: Reduction of average truck waiting times
- Time spent in the yard: Optimizing turnaround time from check-in to departure
- Punctuality: Proportion of transports that arrive at the ramp on time
- Ramp load: Better distribution of ramp usage over the day
- Planning quality: Share of pre-planned and confirmed time windows
- No-show rate: Reduction of undetected shipments
All KPIs are in clear dashboards in TradeLinks Insights Cockpit available and can be evaluated for each location, period or process phase.
TradeLink ensures that personnel can be optimally planned through transparent time window bookings and real-time overviews.
In concrete terms, this means:
- Predictive planning: Your team can see early on when which transports will arrive and can better manage shifts and personnel requirements.
- More flexible deployment planning: In the event of short-term changes (e.g. delays), it is possible to react quickly and reschedule personnel.
- Avoiding idle time: Thanks to an even distribution of deliveries, staff overcapacities and idle time are reduced.
TradeLink improves on-time delivery (OTD) by making planning, communication and processes along the supply chain more transparent and reliable.
Specifically, you benefit from:
- Clear time frames: Time slots booked and confirmed early provide planning security for all parties involved.
- Real time status: Delays or changes are immediately visible as soon as they have been entered — this means that countermeasures can be initiated in good time.
- Better processes at the gate and at the ramp: Reduced waiting and waiting times ensure that delivery dates are met.
Yes, TradeLink meets the highest security standards and is fully GDPR-compliant.
An overview of our measures:
- Hosting in the EU: All data is stored in certified data centers in the EU.
- ISO 27001 certified: Our hosting partners meet international security standards.
- Data encryption: Data is encrypted both during transfer and storage.
- Roles & rights concepts: Access to data is only possible after clearly defined authorizations.
- GDPR-compliant contracts: We provide an order processing contract (AVV) in accordance with the GDPR.
TradeLink works with a role-based authorization system, which clearly regulates who can see and edit which information:
- Internal users (e.g. logistics, purchasing): Only see your company's data, such as booked time slots, ramp planning, status of deliveries.
- External partners (e.g. carriers, suppliers): See only the transports, time frames and locations that affect them themselves. It takes place no access to other suppliers or internal company data.
- administrators: Can manage users and locations and assign authorizations.
All users only see the data that is relevant to their role and process.
TradeLink uses a role-based user and authorization system to ensure that only authorized persons can create or change bookings.
Specifically:
- Internal users (e.g. logistics, purchasing): Sign in with personal accounts and book directly on the platform. Rights and roles regulate who can book where.
- External partners (e.g. carriers, suppliers): Received for individual shipments or locations a direct booking link (e.g. in the invitation or via email). It is not necessary to have your own account. This makes it easy for them to create an Avise — but only for the transports and locations to which they have been invited.
- Safety: Each booking link is unique and only valid for the respective transport/location.