Prioritize multimodal access (road and rail proximity), dock capacity, daytime cut-off and carrier pickup windows, WMS/API integration, and the 3PL’s ability to scale racking, labor, and temp-controlled areas quickly to meet peak demand.

Lower real estate and wage rates versus capital cities can reduce storage and handling fees, but evaluate trade-offs: transit time to major markets, availability of skilled picking labor, and peak-season labor surcharges that influence total landed fulfillment cost.

Insist on SLA definitions for order accuracy, lead time, and cut-offs; real-time inventory and shipment APIs or EDI; standardized reporting for OTIF, returns, and labor productivity; and clearly defined escalation paths for exceptions.

Model inventory allocation by demand zones and transit-time promises: reserve fast-moving SKUs nearer to demand, use Koknese for regional pool stock or cross-dock operations, and simulate carrier rates and lead times to optimize splits for cost and delivery speed.