How a Houston and Oakland drayage carrier moved to DrayTech

The carrier

This carrier runs container drayage out of two sites: Houston, serving Bayport and Barbours Cut, and Oakland. Its fleet of more than 140 tractors is tracked by GPS. Like most drayage companies, it moves imports, exports and empty returns every day.

The problem

Before DrayTech, moving one container meant working in many places at once. Delivery orders came in by email. Container status lived on terminal websites. Gate passes were booked in a portal and texted to drivers. GPS was in another app. Billing happened in a separate system, often days later, from paperwork that had to be chased down.

Each tool worked on its own. The trouble was the space between them: re-typing container numbers, checking status by hand, and remembering which charges belonged on which invoice.

What changed

Dispatch on one screen

Each site now runs its board in DrayTech. Delivery orders are read into shipments. Container status, holds and last free day sit on the same row as the driver and the appointment. Dispatchers filter the board to what needs attention instead of opening a dozen tabs. See container tracking.

Pre-gate pins at Port Houston, booked automatically

In Houston, pre-gate pins at Port Houston are booked automatically and land in the driver app. Dispatchers handle exceptions, not routine bookings. See Port Houston drayage software.

A driver app in the driver's language

Drivers use the DrayTech driver app on their own phones, in multiple languages. They see the trip, the pin and the next stop, and send POD and EIR photos from the app. GPS stamps arrive and depart times on each leg.

Billing from the same data

Invoices draft from the shipment, with the delivery order and proof of delivery merged into the PDF. Driver pay is posted per leg.

How they switched

The carrier did not switch overnight. DrayTech runs every day inside the business, and more than 4,700 container legs have run on the platform.

The cut-over rule was simple: billing by delivery date. Loads delivered to the receiver before November 1, 2026 bill in the old system. Loads delivered on or after November 1, 2026 bill in DrayTech. Pre-pull, yard and empty-return dates do not count. Nothing is billed twice and nothing falls between systems.

November 1, 2026 was set as the day all live work runs in DrayTech.

What other carriers can take from it

• Pick one billing rule and stick to it. Delivery date is easy for everyone to check.
• Put everything on one screen. Status, holds, the appointment and the driver belong on the same row.
• Start with the work people hate. Pin booking and status checks are the first things a team is glad to hand off.

Read the full guide to switching from a legacy drayage TMS, or see the Oakland side in Oakland drayage software.