Expect providers to offer highway and rail connectivity, dock and trailer marshalling areas, and established relationships with national carriers and regional freight forwarders. Verify transit times to principal markets, frequency of carrier pickups, and any intermodal options that reduce handling and transit costs.

Prioritize throughput (lines/hour), order accuracy, on-time shipment percentage, and inventory accuracy. Confirm WMS and TMS compatibility, API or EDI integrations for order and shipment flows, and real-time reporting to support inventory visibility and SLA monitoring.

Lower land and labor costs can reduce operating expense, but assess worker availability for peak seasons and the availability of warehouse space with appropriate clear heights and dock counts. Plan for scalable leases or nearby expansion sites to support growth without disrupting operations.

Negotiate clear SLAs for order lead times, accuracy, and claims resolution; penalties and remediation for missed SLAs; inventory reconciliation cadence; liability and insurance terms; and data access rights. Ensure exit terms and inventory recovery procedures are defined to reduce transition risk.