Omaha Steaks cut its average delivery time from 6.2 days to 1.24 days. It got there by rebuilding its network around its stores, instead of the centralized automated fulfillment centers that grocers like Kroger spent billions building.
How it happened: The $600M, 109-year-old butcher made four changes, Modern Retail reported:
Footprint: Added five fulfillment centers across Texas, Indiana, New Jersey, Florida and California in three months, expanding from a single Omaha base to coast-to-coast reach.
Stores: Turned all 44 retail stores into pickup and micro-fulfillment hubs, so each location doubles as a shipping node.
Last mile: Partnered with Roadie, the UPS-owned gig network with more than 500,000 drivers, to handle delivery from those stores.
Packaging: Replaced Styrofoam with insulated corrugated packaging and dry ice or gel packs, cutting freight costs.
The 30-mile ring: The store-as-node design makes same-day perishable delivery economical. Orders placed by 3 p.m. ET within 30 miles of a store arrive within three hours, now reaching about 140 million Americans. Each new store (14 in 2026, 20 in 2027) widens that radius instead of adding a central plant to spread fixed costs.
The Kroger contrast: Omaha Steaks CEO Nate Rempe set a high bar: “Restaurant-quality or better proteins delivered the same day… is what the supply chain is expected to deliver,” he told Modern Retail.
His network runs counter to the centralized automated model that has hurt other grocers. Kroger took $2.6 billion in charges to close three Ocado fulfillment centers, then shifted to store-based picking.
What to watch: Omaha Steaks’ strategy proves the store-as-node model can work for perishables, the same architecture Walmart, Home Depot and Lowe’s already use for dry goods.
Whether a gig network beats centralized robotics on cost-to-serve remains open. But a $600M butcher reached 1.24-day delivery without the nine-figure bill.
