Prioritize proximity to the border crossing to reduce transit and detention risk; documented customs facilitation experience; carrier and last-mile partner availability; WMS/OMS integration for inventory visibility; scalable racking and cross-dock capabilities; and clear SLA, pricing and contingency terms.

Shorter inland transit from Busia to Ugandan and western Kenyan markets lowers lead times and shrink-wraps distribution radii. Reliable carrier frequency and local last-mile partnerships reduce delivery variability; combined with cross-docking, this improves order-to-delivery SLAs for both small parcel and palletized freight.

Benchmark land and rent per sqm, labor rates and productivity, inbound/outbound handling fees, storage density (cube utilization), cross-dock and consolidation charges, customs and bonded storage fees, WMS licensing or transaction costs, and documented on-time delivery and inventory accuracy metrics.