Focus on transit times to key ports, container drayage costs, available bonded or customs-cleared space, temperature-controlled capacity if needed, WMS integration/APIs, pick-pack accuracy metrics, SLA guarantees, and carrier diversity. Assess local labor reliability and carrier cut-off schedules to ensure alignment with your replenishment cadence.

Closer proximity to port terminals reduces drayage and dwell time, lowering landed cost and inventory lead times. Frequent feeder sailings and direct carrier slots improve schedule reliability and reduce buffer stock. Evaluate transshipment frequency, customs processing time, and typical container turnaround to quantify impact on total landed cost.

Require real-time WMS/WCS integration, multi-carrier shipping support, ASN and EDI capabilities, pick-and-pack SLA reporting, and seamless RMA/returns workflows. Also validate visibility into inventory position, batch/lot tracking, and analytics for order-to-delivery KPIs to ensure consistent omnichannel performance.

Optimize storage tiers and slotting to reduce handling, consolidate inbound containers to lower freight cost per unit, use cross-docking where possible to cut holding costs, negotiate variable labor models for peak season, and select multi-carrier strategies to lower parcel spend without sacrificing delivery windows.