Prioritize proximity to express hubs and intermodal terminals, direct access to trunk highways and branch rail, dock capacity and yard depth, warehouse clear height and racking density, and carrier contract options for LTL and parcel to control total landed cost.

Shifting distribution can reduce rents, labor and inland transport on inbound consolidation, lowering per-unit storage costs. Trade-offs include potential increases in last-mile transit to eastern seaboard customers, inventory repositioning needs, and investment in cross-dock or multi-node networks to preserve delivery SLA.