Evaluate dock door counts and throughput, pallet racking and pick density, cross-dock and sortation capability, automation-readiness, and available SKUs-per-hour. Confirm direct LTL and parcel lanes, regional dray coverage, and carrier density for zone-skipping to reduce last-mile cost and transit time.

Proximity to major highways and ports reduces drayage and inbound lead time, enabling lower inventory-in-transit and faster replenishment. Higher carrier density supports competitive parcel rates and better SLA options; combined, these factors typically lower per-order landed cost and improve on-time delivery to major Southern California population centers.

Key metrics: pick-and-pack accuracy, orders per hour, dock-to-stock time, on-time shipping percentage, average days of inventory, return processing time, chargeback and claims rates, and detailed cost-per-order line items. Require sample SLA thresholds and penalty terms for missed targets to compare proposals objectively.