Prioritize metrics and capabilities that drive day‑to‑day performance:

Location trade‑offs: inland sites often yield lower facility costs and competitive domestic transit times to central markets, but may add overland distance to border crossings or ports. Expect reduced unit storage cost, similar regional delivery times, and slightly higher ocean/air access legs versus coastal hubs; use total landed cost models to compare.

Key services:

Negotiate clear SLA definitions (order accuracy, on‑time shipping), volume tiers and ramp schedules, chargeback and penalty clauses, data and integration commitments (WMS/API access), and terms for capacity release/termination to protect against demand volatility.