Atlanta’s logistics and supply chain industry has attracted a fast-growing company to tap into the East Coast market.
Emerge, an Arizona-based freight procurement company, openedan office in Dunwoody this week to work in conjunction with its Scottsdale headquarters and its Boulder, Colorado, product development center.
The company’s Atlanta office is located on the 20th floor of the Three Ravinia tower and has space for 160 employees. Its Atlanta hires will be in sales, customer support, carrier enablement and other roles. Approximately 19 employees are already based at the Atlanta location and the company looks to fill its 160 capacity by 2024.
The company’s chief operating officer, Cameron Ramsdell, will lead the company’s Atlanta team.
Founded in 2017, the business provides a marketplace platform that helps connect manufacturers and companies with trucking shippers. It streamlines the process for those parties to transport goods and make transactions.
Emerge experienced approximately 700% growth on its platform from 2020 to 2021, according to the company. Over 1,000 shippers have used the platform to date. Nationwide, the company has just under 300 employees.
Some of its biggest customers include Anheuser-Busch Companies LLC and Dollar Tree Inc., said Emerge President George Abernathy.
The impetus for opening an Atlanta office was to accommodate its recent growth, have a presence in the same time zone as many of its customers and take advantage of its geography, said Abernathy.
The Atlanta-Birmingham-Chattanooga region is a hotspot for freight transportation. It is the origin point for 17% of all U.S. freight and employs 12.52% of the country’s truck drivers, according to supply chain market intelligence outlet Freight Waves.
Atlanta is increasingly becoming recognized as a supply chain innovation hub because of its strong logistics network. Robotics company GreyOrange announced this year they were adding 300 jobs following a $110 million investment. Cloud-based supply chain company and unicorn Stord raised $120 million in May, bringing its valuation to $1.3 billion. Plus, the metro area's industrial real estate sector is booming because of the rising demand for e-commerce.
The office establishment comes shortly after the company raised its largest funding round yet.
In September of last year, Emerge received a Series B funding round of $130 million. The round was led by 9Yards Capital, Tiger Global Management and The Spruce House Partnership. It brought the company’s total funding to $150 million.
Business media outlet Forbes ranked the company 23rd in America’s Top 500 Best Startup Employers last year. It was recognized in the Phoenix Business Journal’s “Top Places to Work” and FreightWaves ranked it 8th in its “FreightTech Top 25” listing.
