Today, Schwan’s Home Delivery announced it is collaborating with Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) to deliver technology-enabled personalized experiences for its customers. The company that started with selling ice cream in a yellow truck in rural Minnesota and now serves communities and families across America is leveraging the breadth and depth of AWS capabilities as part of its transformation into a data-driven, modern mobile retailer. This technology helps the company to provide enhanced direct-to-consumer experiences, open doors for delivery options, and gain visibility across its delivery routes serving nearly 2 million customers in the U.S. 

As part of its commitment to innovation and meeting customers where they are, Schwan’s Home Delivery is diving deeper into ways to connect with customers, optimize delivery times, and personalize product recommendations. Because of Amazon’s innovation and success in customer experience, logistics, distribution, and home delivery, Schwan’s Home Delivery worked with AWS to launch a pilot service in 2021 to quickly test out solutions with customers by using an AWS two-way messaging service. This service allows Schwan’s Home Delivery to connect with its customers when its mobile store will be in the neighborhood to confirm availability for a stop, an important factor in the delivery of fresh, frozen food. Using AWS machine learning to power product recommendations, Schwan’s Home Delivery suggests new food items the customer may like based on previous orders and like-buyer basket items.  

With a new, connected data ecosystem, Schwan’s Home Delivery can serve customers during times that are most convenient to those customers with a diverse, appealing set of food options that fit their shopping preferences. The capability also improves the local team member’s ability to know and serve their customers through precision routing and improved customer insights. It also treats the Schwan’s driver as an internal customer and uses technology to improve their work experience. As Schwan’s Home Delivery transitions to its new Yelloh brand, the AWS collaboration will help create a dynamic customer experience that ensures the company can deliver where and when the customer wants their food orders delivered.

“AWS is critical to our digital transformation, and we look forward to harnessing its industry-leading cloud capabilities as we enter our next stage of growth,” said Kevin Boyum, Schwan’s Home Delivery, chief strategy officer. “In just a few short weeks with the solution that AWS Professional Services helped us to build, we were able to realize increased productivity, mileage savings, and—most importantly—an enhanced, more on-demand experience for our customers. With AWS and their Professional Services team, we are able to access insights that allow us to stay ahead of the competition by optimizing our product innovation processes and delivering premium experiences wherever and whenever consumers choose to engage with our brand.”

"AWS is helping Schwan’s Home Delivery to develop and deliver new seamless customer experiences, leverage its broad, frozen food delivery fleet, and build and scale its technology infrastructure to support evolving consumer preferences," said Justin Honaman, head, worldwide consumer products & retail go-to-market at Amazon Web Services. "By accelerating its cloud migration and adopting AWS machine learning and analytics capabilities, Schwan’s Home Delivery can unlock the power of customer and fleet data to build personalized, connected solutions that will improve the overall end customer experience, maximize the efficiency of its delivery operations, and more quickly turn data and insights into actions and results. We’re excited about the future of our collaboration with Schwan’s Home Delivery as they transition to the modern, mobile retailer called Yelloh, and as they create unique and engaging consumer experiences.”