The Situation
Tractor Supply Company first partnered with Roadie on home delivery in 2017. Founded as a mail-order tractor parts business in 1938, its customers are located all over the country, including smaller cities and towns outside the coverage areas of traditional delivery networks. Roadie enabled Tractor Supply to begin a methodical expansion of same-day delivery for items ranging from livestock feed and dog food to tillers and riding lawnmowers. When the novel coronavirus COVID-19 became a global pandemic, the need for same-day delivery became urgent and Tractor Supply suddenly needed to compress its rollout timeline from a few months to a few weeks.
The Challenge
As the largest rural lifestyle retail chain in the country, Tractor Supply serves a large number of customers outside major metros. With most same-day delivery networks covering only primary and secondary markets, rolling out same-day delivery for everyone while they sheltered in place was an enormous challenge. To add complexity, Tractor Supply’s 15,000+ inventory items range in size from power tools to huge items like chicken coops.
The Result
Tractor Supply knew from its pilot with Roadie that the crowdsourced network of personal cars and trucks could handle the variety of inventory. Roadie had also already enabled them to launch delivery in a number of traditionally hard-to-service markets.
Together, Roadie and Tractor Supply worked to accelerate the ramp-up of same-day delivery in 1,462 locations in less than three weeks. Now, Tractor Supply Company is the first major general merchandise retailer to offer same-day delivery from 100% of stores – all 1,863 U.S. locations – and provided critical services for America’s heartland, which most delivery providers struggle to reach.
“At Tractor Supply, we are committed to being the most dependable supplier of basic maintenance products for farm, ranch and rural customers,” said John Ordus, Executive Vice President, Chief Stores Officer at Tractor Supply. “It is incredibly exciting to be able to offer same-day delivery via Roadie at every Tractor Supply store.”
It is incredibly exciting to be able to offer same-day delivery via Roadie at every Tractor Supply store.
John Ordus, Executive Vice President, Chief Stores Officer
With full integration into Tractor Supply’s e-commerce website and back-office systems, customers receive real-time status updates and can track their deliveries from the store to their door. To schedule a same-day delivery with the Roadie community of drivers, Tractor Supply customers can choose “Same-Day Delivery” at checkout on www.TractorSupply.com or work with an in-store Team Member to have their in-store purchase delivered.