Evaluate port proximity, airport handling capacity, and on-site bonded/FTZ options. Check multimodal trucking lanes, dock door counts, cross-dock capability, and carrier contracts to ensure daily sailings/air lifts and regional last-mile coverage. Prioritize SLA metrics for order cutoffs and transit times.

Bonded and FTZ-capable sites defer duties and allow consolidation, reducing upfront landed costs and improving cash flow. They also streamline inspections and re-export processes, shortening dwell time and lowering demurrage risk for high-turn SKUs.

• Typical pricing models: per-pallet/month storage, per-pick and per-line item, receiving and inspection fees, and fixed monthly account management.
• Key KPIs: inventory accuracy, order cycle time, on-time shipments, dock-to-stock time, and return-processing SLA.

Look for flexible labor models, documented surge staffing plans, additional overflow storage or mezzanine space, automation for sorting/packing, clear returns routing workflows, and historical peak performance data demonstrating maintained SLA and accuracy under volume spikes.