Confirm proximity to Tokyo Bay ports and Haneda/Narita airports, expressway and rail access, bonded/customs capabilities, cross-dock and cold-chain capacity, and on-site carrier hubs. Also evaluate dock depth, ceiling height, racking density, and peak handling scalability to match your SKU mix and throughput.

Compare fixed costs (rent, utilities), variable operations (picking, packing, labor), inbound/outbound handling, storage per-cubic-meter, returns processing, technology fees, and carrier surcharges. Balance SLA targets (same/next-day, OTIF) against cost-to-serve for each channel and SKU group to identify the right trade-offs.

Expect same- or next-day coverage across the Kanto metro, 1–3 day national LTL reach, and fast airport connections for air export via Haneda/Narita. Major domestic carriers include Japan Post, Yamato, and Sagawa; ocean exports route through Tokyo Bay ports with wide liner coverage for Asia, North America, and Europe.

Use centrally located fulfillment nodes for inventory pooling, cross-docking to minimize hold time, vendor-managed inventory (VMI) programs, consignment stock, and scheduled JIT deliveries to production lines. 3PLs can provide demand smoothing and buffer stocks to reduce safety inventory at customer sites.

Require metrics such as order accuracy, inventory accuracy, OTIF, cycle time, and return processing time. Verify WMS capabilities, real-time EDI/API integrations, reporting dashboards, exception management, and clear SLA definitions with remedies for underperformance to maintain control and transparency.