Claire Walters

Tell us a bit about you and your career so far

I’ve been Regional Vice President for the UK at Lineage for just over two years. I’m responsible for overseeing both day-to-day operations and long-term strategy, ensuring exceptional service is delivered to Lineage’s UK customers across our 13 warehouse operations and nationwide transport network.  

More broadly, I have more than 20 years' experience in logistics across commercial, operations and transformational leadership. Before joining Lineage, I worked in third-party logistics for more than two decades at Unipart, where I ran the Unipart Technology Logistics business supporting technology and retail customers, before overseeing commercial, business development and strategy across Unipart Logistics. 

My main role is to be a servant leader, supporting and developing large teams as we change and grow our business. I believe in building a high-performing culture that thrives on collaboration and innovation. Whether it is negotiating high stakes deals, developing and executing strategy or empowering teams to achieve ambitious goals, I focus on creating environments where people can and do excel. 

What was it that attracted you to Lineage? 

What really drew me to Lineage was its unique combination of ambition, innovation, razor-sharp customer focus and people-centric culture. 

I was excited by how Lineage integrates cutting-edge technology and sustainable practices into its operations to meet the needs of customers at every stage of the supply chain. From improving energy efficiency in our cold storage facilities to offering technology-empowered end-to-end logistics solutions, the company’s commitment to delivering reliable, environmentally-conscious services to our customers really resonated. 

What’s more, Lineage shared my belief that fostering talent and providing opportunities for growth goes hand-in-hand with giving back. The Lineage Foundation for Good, for example, provides our employees with a meaningful sense of purpose beyond their day-to-day work and a platform to contribute to a cause that we all care about: fighting food insecurity. We’ve embraced that in the UK, holding team building charity events each year in support of our partners Fareshare and Meals and More. 

Ultimately, the company fosters an environment where people can thrive and I’m proud to be part of a team that invests in its employees, encourages innovation and champions leadership development. 

What does a typical working day look like for you? 

Every day is different for me, but one thing remains constant: my commitment to Lineage customers and continuing to push the boundaries of innovation. The most inspiring days for me are when I get out and about visiting our sites and teams across the UK – I really enjoy the opportunity to recognise and support our fantastic teams. I also derive huge inspiration from visits to and meetings with our customers, taking time to understand their businesses and think about how best to help them. 

Every day is a learning day for me; site visits can help identify areas for improvement, whether it's optimising workflows for faster turnaround times or enhancing storage conditions for product integrity, all of which are vitally important for meeting the needs and expectations of our customers.  

How would you describe your leadership style? 

I’m a big believer in servant leadership: strong communication allied with authenticity. My job is to be positive and motivate the team to be customer-centric in everything they do, ensuring that we are pushing the boundaries of innovation.  

Servant leadership is crucial for a customer-driven approach because it prioritises understanding and meeting customer needs. Fostering a culture of empathy and active listening empowers our team to truly connect with customers, identify pain points and develop solutions that resonate.

This approach fosters creativity, drives employee engagement, builds trust and loyalty among customers and encourages continuous improvement through a feedback culture.

Servant leadership creates a virtuous cycle where satisfied customers inspire motivated employees to innovate, further enhancing the customer experience. In the cold chain and logistics industry, this type of leadership is imperative to driving innovation and positive customer experiences.

I’m also a big believer of recognising and celebrating success and having fun at work! 

How does Lineage ensure it is a diverse and inclusive place to work? 

At Lineage, diversity and inclusion are core to our culture. We recognise that our people are our greatest asset. As such, we strive to create a work environment where everyone feels valued and respected, regardless of their background. 

To make this a reality, we have implemented a range of initiatives that promote diversity at all levels. This includes targeted outreach programmes to attract talent from diverse backgrounds, both within and outside of the cold chain industry, and training programmes to foster an inclusive culture. We promote flexible working arrangements to accommodate all needs, as well as employee resource groups that create spaces for employees to connect, share experiences and support one another. 

I’ve long recognised and worked to combat historical gender disparities in the logistics and cold chain industries. This has led me to become involved with the Women in Lineage ERG, which helps to foster an environment where women can thrive and influence positive change throughout the industry. We're also proud to support external initiatives such as Women in Cold Chain. 

At Lineage, it’s our mission to help feed the world. However, we truly believe that we’re better able to achieve this with people of all backgrounds sitting at the table. 

What technological innovations in the logistics industry are you most excited about?

The logistics industry is evolving rapidly and one of the most exciting areas for me is the integration of advanced technology like automation into supply chain management. This technology is helping to enhance real-time visibility and streamline operations across our various warehouses. 

We’ve made significant strides in implementing robotics and high-tech systems in our cold storage facilities. In our fully-automated facility in Peterborough, UK, we use Lineage Eye to automate receiving, working in tandem with our automated vehicle offloading system. This not only helps improve efficiency and accuracy, but also improves safety and productivity for our team. 

Elsewhere, the use of IoT for tracking and monitoring goods throughout the supply chain also excites me. Not only will it ensure that we maintain the highest standards of safety and quality through temperature tracking and food optimisation, but it will also allow us to offer more predictive and responsive services to our customers. 

The possibilities that this introduces are truly endless, from enhancing sustainability efforts to enabling more energy-efficient operations and reducing waste. As such, I’m particularly looking forward to seeing how it continues to transform the logistics industry. 

Amid turbulent times, how are you and Lineage helping clients prepare for future supply chain crises? 

In times of disruption, whether due to economic shifts, natural disasters that occur overseas or unforeseen events like the pandemic, the key to managing crises effectively is resilience. At Lineage, we ensure resilience by building and developing supply chains and teams that are both agile and adaptable.

Real-time data and transparency go a long way in supporting this. By providing customers with insights into all levels of the supply chain, from inventory levels to transport routes, we help them make smarter decisions, as well as diagnose and address problems. We achieve this through technology, such as our supply chain management platform, Lineage Link. This provides predictive analytics which help to anticipate potential disruptions and proactively adjust operations. 

The Lineage culture of continuous learning and collaboration naturally drives resilience. By empowering our teams to stay agile, think strategically and maintain a solutions-focused mindset, we ensure that we not only weather challenges but also turn them into opportunities for growth. 

How does Lineage stay ahead of the curve when it comes to supply chain sustainability? 

Sustainability is the beating heart of Lineage’s operations. In recent years, we’ve joined the Move to -15 initiative, signed the climate pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2040 and made significant solar investments to transform our energy consumption. Our goal is to not only meet regulatory requirements, but to exceed them as we continuously strive to reduce our carbon footprint while helping to feed the world. 

In addition to big projects, we believe it’s the million little things we do on a daily basis that really move the needle when it comes to achieving net-zero emissions. For example, we were able to make real changes at our facility in Holmewood, UK, which started with the introduction of monthly ‘energy walks’. These walks identified areas where we could make a difference in energy consumption and optimise our refrigerator plant, which also improved overall efficiency.

However, most importantly, Lineage is driven by reducing food waste, which is responsible for around 6-8% of all greenhouse gases. By improving the efficiency of our cold storage and distribution systems, we help reduce the amount of food waste along the supply chain, which has a direct environmental benefit. We also recently celebrated our first Food Chain Innovation Challenge across three countries – the UK, US and Netherlands – which championed innovative ways small businesses, students and entrepreneurs are tackling food waste.  

What are your goals for the next 12-18 months? 

My focus, and that of Lineage, for the next 12-18 months will be leading the charge towards a future where innovation, sustainability and customer-centricity are seamlessly interwoven.

This journey starts with our people. Employee development is the cornerstone of our success, and will remain a big focus for us into next year. I believe in empowering our team to reach their full potential, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth. A motivated and skilled workforce is essential for driving innovation. 

Speaking of innovation, we're not just talking about incremental improvements. We're aiming for breakthroughs. Whether that's groundbreaking solutions to massively reduce food waste or using real-time data and analytics to create the self-aware warehouse, this is the level of innovation we're committed to pursuing and it's only possible with a team that's empowered to think outside the box.

And let's not forget our customers. They are the heart of our business and their satisfaction is our ultimate measure of success. We'll be deepening our relationships with our clients, actively seeking their feedback and tailoring our solutions to meet their unique needs. Our goal is to be more than just a service provider; we want to be a trusted partner, collaborating with our customers to overcome challenges and achieve their goals. 

Our other goal as a UK team is to stretch our charity challenge to tackle more than the 12 peaks we climbed this year and raise more than the £64,000 (US$78,000) we raised for Fareshare and Meals and More.

To read the full story in the magazine, click HERE.

Explore the latest edition of Supply Chain Digital Magazine and be part of the conversation at our global conference series, Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE.

Discover all our upcoming events and secure your tickets today. 

Supply Chain Digital is a BizClik brand.