Chewy's COO shares three strategies for last-mile delivery advantage

Scott Anderson, Chief Operating Officer at Chewy, has shared strategic insights on last-mile delivery with Supply Chain Dive. According to Anderson's guidance, e-commerce retailers operating in the shadow of industry giants can gain meaningful competitive leverage through closer collaboration with shipping carriers and a focus on personalized customer experiences.

Last-mile delivery remains the costliest and most operationally complex segment of e-commerce fulfillment. Amazon Prime and Walmart+ have raised speed and reliability expectations across the sector, forcing smaller and mid-sized retailers to rethink logistics partnerships and explore alternative solutions to keep pace.

Chewy, as a high-volume retailer, has demonstrated how strategic decisions in carrier selection and partnership management can accelerate delivery times while maintaining cost efficiency. Personalization complements this approach by boosting customer satisfaction and, more strategically, by supporting repeat orders and making operations more predictable.

For e-commerce operators and platform managers, these insights underscore that logistics success hinges not only on speed but also on investment in customer data analysis and carrier strategy. Businesses serving recurring-purchase categories—particularly those with subscription or frequent-buy patterns—can draw lessons from Chewy's model to refine their own networks and competitive positioning.