Prioritize transit times to key markets, inbound/outbound cutoffs, carrier density, storage and handling rates, available temperature-controlled capacity, WMS compatibility, SLA uptime, and peak-season scalability. Also evaluate local labor availability and automation options to forecast per-order cost and fulfillment velocity.

Request lane-specific transit-time matrices, sample lane pricing, and carrier manifests. Verify which carriers serve the site, cross-dock frequency, and customs facilitation for export/import lanes. Run pilot shipments to confirm measured transit times against SLA targets and assess any routing constraints.

Key features include high-bay racking, ambient and chilled storage, dock configuration for pallet and parcel flows, barcode-enabled WMS, EDI/API integration, real-time inventory visibility, and support for ASN and batch processing to handle B2B order complexity efficiently.

Negotiate clear SLAs with KPIs and remedies, transparent billing for storage, handling, and pick/pack, minimums and scaling clauses, inventory reconciliation cadence, liability and insurance limits, and defined change-order procedures to limit unexpected cost drift and preserve service consistency.