Prioritize SLA clarity, inventory accuracy, WMS/Warehouse API integration, pick-and-pack throughput, returns handling, and temperature-control if required. Also assess carrier connectivity, yard and dock capacity, scalability of labor, and transparent reporting on KPIs such as OTIF, inventory accuracy, and dock-to-stock lead time.

Closer location to Cairo and direct road links to Red Sea ports reduce truck miles, lower carrier fuel and time costs, and shorten lead times for exports. This improves consolidation options, enables faster replenishment to urban centers, and often lowers landed logistics cost for both domestic distribution and international freight lanes.

Validate dock door count and configuration, yard depth, ceiling height, racking types, forklift fleet and maintenance, power and HVAC reliability, security and surveillance, and IT systems (WMS, EDI/API). Collect baseline KPIs such as picking accuracy, order cycle time, and throughput per shift for benchmarking.

Negotiate staged storage tiers, throughput-based pricing, clear definitions for value-added services, fuel and minimums indexing, SLA-based rebates or penalties, billing audit rights, and reasonable termination notice. Demand transparency on incidental fees and agree on KPI measurement and dispute resolution methods to control cost-to-serve.