Compare realized transit times to your primary customer zones, then model landed cost including duties, VAT, and last-mile fees. Assess the 3PL's customs brokerage, bonded warehousing, and experience with tariff classification to reduce clearance delays and unpredictable fees.

Confirm GDP/GMP compliance, validated cold-chain monitoring, documented temperature mapping, and traceability systems. Ask for maintenance logs, contingency plans for refrigeration failure, and SLA penalties tied to temperature excursions and order accuracy.

Prioritize pick-and-pack accuracy, on-time dispatch, returns turnaround, inventory accuracy, and order-cycle times. Require transparent reporting on chargebacks, shrinkage, and seasonal throughput, with financial remedies or service credits for SLA breaches.

Place inventory close to major transport nodes (airport, highways) to shorten regional lanes. Use zone-based inventory pooling to minimize cross-border duties and consolidate shipments. Balance rent and labor costs with expected transit savings to optimize cost-to-serve.

Ask about peak staffing plans, temporary slot availability, cross-docking capacity, IT integration timeframes, and historical performance during spikes. Request references and case studies demonstrating capacity scaling, onboarding speed, and outage recovery procedures.