Prioritize transit times to major gateways and carrier lanes; SLA adherence, onboarding timelines and scalability; facility capability (ambient vs cold chain), labor availability and productivity; inventory accuracy, order cycle time and cost‑per‑order metrics—request sample KPIs and visit operations to validate performance.

Closer access to SCTEx, TPLEX and Clark reduces road miles and time‑in‑transit, cutting fuel and linehaul costs while improving schedule reliability. This proximity speeds replenishment to Metro Manila and northern Luzon, supports tighter reorder cycles and helps meet B2B delivery SLAs.

Require a cloud WMS with API connectivity to carriers and your OMS, real‑time inventory visibility and analytics, scalable pick‑pack labor or automation, robust returns processing, and value‑added services like kitting and labeling to support omnichannel complexity and peak season volume.

Compare total landed cost and service‑level impact: the region typically offers lower rent and scalable space that reduces fixed warehousing costs, while Metro Manila shortens last‑mile time to dense urban customers. Many brands adopt a hub‑and‑spoke approach—primary DC in the region with satellite urban nodes—to balance cost efficiency and delivery speed.