Assess dock capacity, clear height, racking density, and WMS compatibility. Review carrier integrations (road, port feeder services, final-mile providers), average pick/pack cycle times, SLA performance, and cost-to-serve per zone. Verify scalability for seasonal peaks and ability to handle cross-docking or value-added services.

Lower rental and labor rates reduce unit storage and handling costs, improving margin on low-velocity SKUs. However, evaluate transport lanes: savings on warehousing can be offset by longer road miles to major demand centers. Model landed cost, service windows, and inventory days-of-supply to quantify trade-offs.

Prioritize WMS with real-time inventory, carrier API connectivity for rate shopping and label generation, returns processing, and n-tier reporting. Ensure the 3PL supports slotting optimization, batch picking, and kitting for promotions. Confirm SLA reporting cadence and incident escalation procedures.