Prioritize location relative to your customer base and inbound suppliers, WMS interoperability and API support, scalable labor and racking, fulfillment SLAs (pick/pack/ship times), inventory accuracy, and value‑added services (kitting, repackaging). Also review security, insurance, and contingency plans for peak season surges.

Map transit times from candidate sites to your primary zones, review nearby parcel hubs and LTL lanes, and analyze carrier density for zone skipping and consolidation. Evaluate published transit maps, sample rate cards, and run a few representative route cost models to quantify zone and carrier effects on freight spend.

Include KPIs for on-time order fulfillment, pick-and-pack accuracy, inventory accuracy, order-to-ship cycle time, dock-to-stock times, returns processing windows, and chargeback/penalty mechanisms. Ensure reporting cadence, data access (EOD/real-time), and reconciliation procedures are contractually defined.

Model fixed and variable storage costs, labor (regular and seasonal), inbound and outbound freight, cross-dock or handling fees, WMS and integration charges, packaging and returns handling, inventory carrying costs, SLA penalties, and transition/setup expenses. Run scenarios for demand variability and peak seasons to capture real TCO differences.