Norfolk Southern has made an $8 million investment in DrayNow Inc., provider of a real-time geo-tracking and ETA platform that integrates directly with TMS (transportation management system) software via EDI and API to connect small fleet owner-operators with brokers who need first and last-mile intermodal drayage service.
NS’s investment in DrayNow involves a partnership “to improve the customer and drayage driver experience, enhance supply chain transparency, and increase network fluidity … through an app that provides customers with real-time shipment tracking and document capture of drayage shipments. NS operates rail’s most extensive intermodal network in the eastern U.S. Together, the companies will develop and deploy technology to unite a currently fragmented supply chain and increase the ability to best serve intermodal customers.” NS added its investment “will enable DrayNow to further technology development, increase sales and marketing, and add new team members.”
NS Chief Strategy Officer Mike McClellan will represent the railroad on DrayNow’s board of directors. “We are taking a comprehensive look at the supply chain with an emphasis on areas where we can modernize our processes and extend our reach even further beyond the track,” he said. “Our shared goal is to improve our customer experience and help them grow their businesses. This is perfectly aligned with our long-term vision for Norfolk Southern.”
“We’re a customer-centric, operations-driven company,” said NS Chief Marketing Officer Ed Elkins. “Together with DrayNow, we are reimagining the way we serve our customers and work with drayage. While we are a B2B business, our customers expect a B2C experience. This means leveraging cutting-edge technology to give them a full and transparent view into their shipments and a seamless administrative experience.” “DrayNow has always been committed to building technology solutions that address intermodal’s unique challenges and serve all the stakeholders of the intermodal supply chain,” said DrayNow CEO Mike Albert. “Norfolk Southern is the perfect strategic partner to accelerate our vision of leveraging technology for transparency and efficiency, all the while expanding our operating business.”
