Assess warehouse layout (racking, floor capacity), cross-dock and staging areas, IT/API integration for WMS and order flows, SLA performance for picks and dispatches, and availability of value-added services such as kitting, returns processing and temperature-controlled storage. Also verify carrier connectivity and scheduled rail services to align with your distribution windows.

Direct rail access and proximity to major highways reduce reliance on long-haul road legs, lowering carrier spend and enabling more predictable lead times. Improved intermodal options can shorten door-to-door transit and allow consolidation strategies that reduce per-unit freight costs for shipments to metropolitan and regional markets.

Expect lower land and rental rates, larger available footprints for lower capital outlay, and regional labour cost advantages. These factors enable higher storage density and scalable operations, though you should model additional line-haul costs to major ports or city DCs to calculate total landed cost accurately.

Track on-time dispatch rate, order accuracy, average days of inventory, warehouse turnaround time, cost-per-pick and carrier dwell times. Monitor inbound/outbound rail interchange performance and seasonal capacity utilization to ensure the 3PL can sustain peak volumes and maintain omnichannel SLAs.