Prioritize road and corridor access, carrier density, facility footprint and racking scalability, labor availability and shift flexibility, SLA and pick/pack accuracy, WMS/API integrations, and demonstrated experience with returns and kitting for omnichannel demands.

Masindi typically offers lower real estate and labor costs versus major hubs, while linehaul may be slightly higher depending on destination. Optimize landed cost through multi-echelon inventory placement, cross-docking, consolidated carrier programs, zone skipping, and improved order batching.

Verify a modern WMS with real-time inventory visibility, API/EDI connectivity, order management, returns processing, kitting/configuration, batch and lot traceability where required, and performance reporting for SLA monitoring.

Assess available adjacent land or modular mezzanine capacity, 3PL’s ability to add labor and shifts, contractual flexibility for short-term space, equipment access (forklifts, conveyors), and lead times to expand racked storage or add value‑add areas without disrupting service levels.