Prioritize proximity to seaports and intermodal terminals, highway access, local carrier density, and drayage costs. Evaluate dock capacity, cross‑dock capability, throughput rates, and regional transit‑time maps to model delivery promises against your SLAs and customer expectations.

Expect modular pricing: storage by pallet or SKU, pick/pack per order, inbound receiving, and fees for value‑added services. Common hidden costs include minimums, seasonal surcharges, pallet rework, demurrage/drayage, chargebacks, and administrative or reconciliation fees.

Require bonded or customs‑cleared facilities, integrated brokerage support, secure yard and inventory controls, reverse‑logistics workflows, and temperature‑controlled options if applicable. Insist on WMS/API connectivity for visibility and customs compliance reporting.

Request WMS/TMS feature lists, API docs, and sample dashboards. Validate KPIs such as inventory accuracy, pick/pack accuracy, on‑time shipment rate, dock‑to‑stock time, and peak throughput. Run reference checks, ask for sample SLA templates, and perform on‑site or remote audits.