Evaluate road and rail links to major metros, carrier pickup windows, terminal access, local trucking density, and last-mile parcel partnerships. Also confirm SOC/SCAC support, dock capacity, and IT/API connectivity for carrier integrations and real-time tracking.

Lower land and labor rates reduce occupancy and handling costs, but measure impact on transport lanes and transit times. Model cost-per-order including inbound consolidation, inventory carrying, and parcel rates to quantify savings versus proximity to demand centers.

Require pick-and-pack accuracy, scalable slotting and racking, returns and reverse logistics handling, kitting and light assembly, batch/lot control, and robust WMS/TMS integration plus SLA-backed reporting and KPIs.

Compare transit time to top ZIPs, cost-per-order, dock-to-stock time, order accuracy, fill rate, inventory days-of-supply, throughput per shift, and scalability options for peak season volumes.