Evaluate travel time to your top customer ZIPs, access to interstate and secondary roads, proximity to intermodal yards or ports, and regional carrier coverage. Model transit times and freight cost by zone to quantify delivery performance and total landed cost impacts.

Require metrics for order accuracy, on-time shipment rate, inventory accuracy, average fulfillment lead time, returns turnaround, and dock-to-stock velocity. Include dispute resolution timelines and penalty language for repeated SLA breaches.

WMS/WCS integration is essential for inventory accuracy, allocation logic, and real-time order orchestration. Ensure the 3PL supports APIs/EDI, automated ASN handling, and dashboarding for daily KPIs to avoid stockouts and improve channel assignment.

Compare storage by pallet and cubic pricing, receiving and putaway fees, pick-and-pack rates, cartonization rules, kitting and returns fees, accessorials, minimums, and potential volume discounts. Model total landed cost under typical and peak volumes.

Look for documented peak-season plans, flexible labor pools, temporary racking and staging strategies, cross-dock capabilities, and historical throughput data. Request references and review their contingency procedures for labor, carrier disruption, and equipment failures.