Conshy’s DrayNow delivered an $8M investment from Norfolk Southern

DrayNow, a Conshohocken logistics technology company focused on more efficient intermodal transportation, announced on Wednesday that Atlanta-based intermodal shipping company Norfolk Southern had invested $8 million into its growth.

Michael Dugas, director of marketing at DrayNow, told Technical.ly the 20-person company has had a relationship with Norfolk Southern for a few years because its subsidiary TDIS is one of DrayNow’s customers.

DrayNow’s platform provides shipment tracking and documentation for drayage shipments, aka when shipping containers are transported by truck to or from railroads.

“We really believe they’re the perfect strategic partner for us,” Dugas said of Norfolk Southern. “They’re really aligned in our vision of leveraging technology to really address the specific challenges and opportunities of intermodal speeds.”

The local PACT Award-winning company previously raised a $5 million Series A in 2018. DrayNow plans to use the fresh funds to support technology development, boost sales and marketing, and hire five to 10 new team members over the next 18 months.

In addition to the investment, DrayNow will partner with Norfolk Southern to build a new SaaS product for the latter’s subsidiaries.

“We’re very excited about how this investment in DrayNow and acknowledgement of its excellence in this space by such a significant player is going to allow us to really align our services and our operations even more tightly to delight our customers,” Dugas said. “Through that kind of integration of an incredible product that continues to drive value and great human to human service interaction that also drives value on the front end.”

Norfolk Southern Chief Strategy Officer Mike McClellan will also join 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,” McClellan said in a written statement. “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.”

DrayNow has been conservative with its revenue generating model over the past few years, Dugas said, and the company’s leadership feels like that effort is paying off with opportunities like this investment.

Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.