Expect improvements in regional transit times and lower warehousing rents versus coastal hubs, plus access to road corridors and airport handling. Look for WMS integration, pick-and-pack SLAs, cross-docking, and customs brokerage to reduce lead times and simplify cross-border shipments.

Evaluate road links to Abidjan, Lomé and Tema, frequency of scheduled carrier departures, and consolidation options. Confirm transit time variability during rainy seasons, port handling windows, and 3PL relationships with freight forwarders to manage dwell and demurrage risk.

Typical offerings include pallet racking, secure yard, basic temperature-controlled zones, pick-and-pack operations, returns handling, and WMS-enabled inventory visibility. Verify IT APIs, SLA metrics for order cycle time, and the 3PL’s capacity for kitting or labeling required for omnichannel retail.

Model trade-offs: inland storage reduces last-mile cost to regional customers but may increase ocean transport and consolidation costs. Compare inventory carrying, freight consolidation, duties, and lead times. Run a pilot with projected SKUs to measure service levels and true landed cost before scaling.