Evaluate dock door density, racked storage and temperature control, cross-dock capability, and real-time WMS with API/EDI. Confirm direct connectivity to national parcel and LTL carriers, scheduled cutoffs, and nearby consolidation points to minimize transit time and carrier handoffs.

Salamanca generally offers lower land and labor costs than coastal port hubs, reducing storage and handling rates. Trade-offs include longer dray to major ports but benefits for inland distribution and cross-border flows into Portugal, improving overall cost-to-serve for regional networks.

Negotiate order cycle time, on-time pick-and-pack, order accuracy, inventory accuracy, dock-to-carrier time, and return-to-stock SLAs. Include chargeback terms, minimum reporting cadence, and penalties or remediation for recurring SLA breaches to preserve service levels.

Require a modern WMS with real-time inventory, API integrations to ecommerce platforms and marketplaces, carrier management/connectors, barcode scanning (or RFID where applicable), and dashboards for order analytics. Confirm testing windows and data governance for SKU syncing and cancellations.

Use flexible space agreements, shared DCs, and labor pooling to absorb volume spikes. Combine accurate short-term forecasts, safety-stock policies, and vendor-managed inventory or postponement strategies to limit excess holdings. Maintain contingency carriers and clear surge rates in contracts.