Prioritize proximity to major highways and rail, bonded or customs-enabled facilities, carrier density for cross-border lanes, labor availability and shift flexibility, and WMS/TMS integration for inventory visibility. Evaluate cost-to-serve by SKU velocity and expected seasonal peaks to match service tiers to demand.

Bonded facilities reduce upfront duties on imported goods held in storage, enabling deferred duty payments and quicker re-export. This lowers working capital needs, shortens clearance cycles, and can reduce landed cost if combined with efficient cross-docking and customs brokerage services.

Require real-time WMS with API connections, order management for multichannel routing, barcode/scan-based quality controls, scalable pick-and-pack automation, and clear SLAs for order accuracy and cut-off times. Ensure reporting on inventory aging and cost-to-serve metrics.

Assess the 3PL’s contracted carrier network, transit time tables to major regional nodes, frequency of outbound departures, and experience with palletized or LTL flows. Request historical transit performance data and references for shipments into priority markets to validate carrier reliability.