Prioritize multimodal access (highway, rail, inland port), dock and staging capacity, slotting and automation levels, carrier connectivity for parcel and LTL, labor availability and costs, and scalability for peak seasons. Match provider SLAs and reporting capabilities to your order profile and lead-time targets.

Location affects linehaul distance, last-mile surcharges, and transit time. Warehouses closer to major highways and carrier hubs reduce transit days and carrier fees, enabling tighter delivery promises and lower safety-stock requirements, which together reduce landed cost per order.

Request throughput metrics (orders/hour), accuracy rates (pick/pack >99%), dock turns per day, pallet positions, cross-dock capacity, WMS integration options, and historical OTIF and exception rates. Use these KPIs to benchmark operational fit and cost-to-serve.

Negotiate transparent rate cards (storage, handling, inbound/outbound), minimum volume commitments, indexing clauses for labor/energy, short-term surge capacity fees, performance SLAs with penalties, and defined onboarding and exit costs to control long-term total cost of ownership.