[ IN PRACTICE ] CASEBOOK
Mastering the Last Mile of Premium, Perishable Food THE CUSTOMER
For the past decade, Crowd Cow has partnered with ethical farms, fisheries and other food producers from around the world to source sustainable, quality beef, seafood, pork, and other items. By sourcing from small farms and managing the processing, Crowd Cow can bring its products to many consumers who otherwise might not have access to them. At the same time, Crowd Cow offers many of its suppliers a customer base they might struggle to reach.
Through its online marketplace, Crowd Cow offers a range of premium food brands, including Wagyu steak, wild tenderloin, and sea scallops. The company provides small suppliers with a wider customer base and allows consumers to customize their product selection and delivery frequency. THE PROVIDER Jitsu is a last-mile delivery service that operates in urban areas across the United States for high-volume shippers. The company uses a proprietary AI-powered technology platform to provide reliable, expedited shipping. This service helps logistics teams control their delivery network and ensure a consistent customer experience.
Customers, including subscribers, can pick and choose which products they’ll purchase and how often they’d like them delivered. During the pandemic, business “just exploded,” says Sievert. To ensure this growth continues, deliveries have to be consistently timely and accurate. “The packages are on a clock,” he says. When they’re delivered, all Crowd Cow boxes need to arrive on time, while the products inside are still frozen, and include exactly the items the customers ordered. If this doesn’t occur—for instance, if a box is missing several pork chops or it arrives late and the contents have already started to thaw—the customer likely will end up trekking to the grocery store. “If we become a hassle, we’re canceled. We can’t afford that,” Sievert says. Crowd Cow had been struggling to find last-mile carriers that could ensure its services would meet the company’s delivery requirements. One service provider Crowd Cow was using offered only a 70% on-time rate, Sievert says.
Until recently, however, the delivery companies Crowd Cow worked with often failed to meet established delivery timelines, says Jeremy Sievert, vice president, operations. The company’s products are both premium and perishable, so reliable and efficient cold chain transportation is essential. To address this, Crowd Cow shifted to Jitsu, a provider of last-mile delivery services for ecommerce firms, logistics providers, and other shippers. After the switch, Crowd Cod’s delivery timelines decreased significantly, Sievert says. CUSTOMERS PICK AND CHOOSE Customers visiting the Crowd Cow online marketplace can choose from a range of premium food brands, including wild tenderloin from Frigorifico Pando Farms in Uruguay, beef hot dogs from Pederson’s Natural Beef Farms in Merango, Wisconsin, Wagyu steak that hails from Kagoshima Farms in Japan, and wild Atlantic sea scallops from Bristol Seafood in Portland, Maine.
by Karen Kroll
January 2026 • Inbound Logistics 181
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