Prioritize location relative to major corridors and customers, service-level agreements for order accuracy and lead time, real-time inventory and WMS integrations, capacity and expansion flexibility, availability of value-added services (kitting, returns), and workforce reliability. Verify carrier relationships and customs handling for cross-border shipments.

Proximity to primary roads, rail links, and border crossings reduces in‑transit time and handling stages, lowering landed cost. Established carrier access enables route optimization and consolidation, improving reliability. Limited modal options increase sensitivity to disruptions, so assess alternative routing and carrier redundancy.

Negotiate transparent tariff schedules for storage, handling, and value‑added services; minimum volume commitments and seasonal adjustment clauses; clear SLAs for order lead time and accuracy; chargeback provisions and dispute resolution; and KPI reporting (OTD, inventory accuracy, dock-to-ship time) with review cadence.

Seek partners that offer returns processing, inspection and refurbishment, kitting and custom packaging, cross-docking to speed throughput, cold chain where required, and scalable temporary labor. Confirm WMS/APIs for multi-channel order routing, SKU-level tracking, and real-time reporting to manage peaks and maintain customer service levels.