Companies and relationships
Company
An organisation registered on LinkXG. Every company has a profile containing basic information, certifications, and facility details. A company can act as a supplier, a buyer, or both depending on context.Tenant
The account context for a company within LinkXG. Each company has exactly one tenant, which provides data isolation, access control, and separate billing. When you log in, you are working within your company’s tenant.Connection
An explicit relationship between two companies on LinkXG. Connections have a direction: one company is the supplier, the other is the customer. No data flows between companies until both parties accept the connection. Connections can be in the following states:| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Requested but not yet accepted |
| Active | Both parties have accepted; data can flow |
| Declined | The receiving party declined the request |
| Revoked | Previously active, now terminated |
Supplier
In the context of a connection, the company providing product data. A supplier shares information with their customer and controls what is visible through share policies.Customer
In the context of a connection, the company receiving product data. A customer views supplier data subject to the share policy the supplier has configured.Buyer
A company using LinkXG primarily to aggregate and view supplier data. Buyers pay for visibility into their supply chain based on products under active traceability.Products and data
Product
A record representing a good that a company manufactures or supplies. Products have attributes including specifications, certifications, compliance data, and optionally the materials that go into them. Products are versioned — each change creates a new version while preserving history.Product version
A specific snapshot of a product’s data at a point in time. When you update a product, a new version is created. Shared data references specific versions, providing an auditable record of what was shared and when.Materials / Inputs
The components, raw materials, or intermediate products that go into making a product. By defining inputs, suppliers enable traceability — buyers can see not just what a product is, but what it is made from.Bill of materials (BOM)
The complete list of inputs that make up a product, including quantities and relationships. In LinkXG, the BOM enables supply chain traceability by linking products to their upstream sources.Product truth
The authoritative, verified data about a product maintained by its owner. LinkXG does not modify or adjudicate product data — the supplier’s data is treated as the source of truth.Data freshness
How recently a product record was updated. LinkXG displays update timestamps and flags stale data so buyers can identify records that may need attention.Schema
The standardised data structure that product information maps to. LinkXG uses a consistent schema across all products, enabling data from different suppliers to be compared and aggregated meaningfully.Sharing and visibility
Share policy
A configuration that defines what a supplier shares with a specific customer. Each active connection has one share policy, which controls:- Product scope: Which products are shared (all, selected, or by category)
- Visibility package: What level of detail is exposed
- Upstream visibility: Whether to reveal or obfuscate the supplier’s own suppliers
- Field overrides: Specific adjustments to the default package
Visibility package
A predefined bundle of data fields that determines what a customer can see. Packages simplify sharing configuration by grouping related fields into meaningful disclosure levels:| Package | What’s included |
|---|---|
| Public Preview | Product name only; supplier identity obfuscated |
| Basic | Name, category, supplier name and country, certification flags |
| Standard | Name, SKU, category, description, basic specifications, certification documents, origin (country/region) |
| Full | All product data except pricing and personally identifiable information |
Product share
A record indicating that a specific product version has been shared with a customer under a particular share policy. Product shares are the basis for access control — if no share exists, the customer cannot see the product.Default deny
LinkXG’s fundamental access principle: if a field is not explicitly allowed by the visibility package or a field override, it is not returned. This ensures suppliers never accidentally expose more than intended.Traceability and tiers
Value chain
The full sequence of companies involved in creating and distributing a product, from raw materials through manufacturing, distribution, and retail to the end consumer.Upstream
The direction towards raw materials and earlier stages of production. Your suppliers are upstream from you; their suppliers are further upstream.Downstream
The direction towards retail and the end consumer. Your customers are downstream from you; their customers are further downstream.Tier
A company’s position relative to the viewer in the supply chain:- Tier 1: Your direct suppliers (companies you have a connection with)
- Tier 2: Your suppliers’ suppliers
- Tier 3+: Further upstream
Traceability
The ability to track the origin and journey of a product through the supply chain. In LinkXG, traceability means following the chain of inputs from a finished product back through components, materials, and raw materials to their sources.Products under active traceability
Products for which a buyer is using LinkXG to map the supply chain, maintain data over time, and support compliance or risk workflows. This is the primary metric for buyer pricing.Chain of custody
The documented sequence of companies that handled a product or its inputs. LinkXG enables chain-of-custody visibility by linking products to their inputs and those inputs to their sources.Privacy and obfuscation
Obfuscation
The practice of hiding identifying information while still showing that something exists. In LinkXG, upstream suppliers are obfuscated by default: buyers can see they exist and what they contribute, but not who they are.Obfuscated upstream (State B)
The default visibility state for Tier 2+ suppliers. When a customer views a product’s inputs, upstream suppliers appear as anonymised references (e.g., “Upstream Supplier U-1842”) rather than their real company names. The customer can see:- That the upstream supplier exists
- Country of origin (but not specific location)
- Certification presence (but not documents)
- Contribution type and quantity bands
Identified upstream (State A)
An upgraded visibility state where the supplier has explicitly revealed an upstream company’s identity to their customer. Revealing upstream identity requires an explicit action and is fully auditable.Pseudonym
The anonymised reference used to represent an obfuscated upstream supplier (e.g., “Upstream Supplier U-1842”). Pseudonyms are:- Stable within a connection: The same upstream supplier always appears with the same pseudonym to a given customer
- Different across connections: The same upstream supplier has different pseudonyms for different customers, preventing cross-customer correlation
Upstream upgrade
An explicit action by a supplier to reveal an upstream company’s identity to a specific customer. Upgrades can be scoped to particular fields (identity, location, certifications) and can have an expiry date.Propagation
The ability for a customer to pass shared data onwards to their own customers. By default, propagation is not allowed. If a supplier permits propagation, it is constrained to the same or more restrictive visibility settings — a customer can never share more than they received.Users and access
User
An individual person with an account on LinkXG. Users belong to exactly one tenant (company) and have a role that determines their permissions within that company.Role
A set of permissions assigned to a user. Standard roles include:| Role | Capabilities |
|---|---|
| Owner | Full administrative control; can manage billing and delete the account |
| Admin | Can manage users, connections, and share policies |
| User | Can manage products and respond to connection requests |
| Viewer | Read-only access to shared data |
Invitation
A request for someone to join LinkXG, either as a new user within an existing company or as a contact at a new supplier company. Invitations include context about who is inviting and why, and expire after 30 days if not accepted.Integrations
ERP integration
A connection between LinkXG and an enterprise resource planning system (SAP, Oracle, etc.) that keeps product data synchronised. ERP integrations can operate in two modes:- ERP authoritative: The ERP is the source of truth; mapped fields are locked in LinkXG
- ERP contributory: Both the ERP and LinkXG users can update mapped fields; conflicts are recorded