Choosing a third-party logistics partner is one of the highest-leverage operations decisions a growing brand makes.
1. What is your WMS actually showing me?
If the answer is "we'll email you a weekly stock report," walk away. Modern logistics demands live visibility — into received, putaway, picked, packed and shipped — by SKU and by lot.
2. Where do my goods sit in the building?
Bonded vs general, ambient vs special zone, racked vs floor — these decisions affect insurance, FIFO/LIFO compliance and damage rates.
3. Who is my single point of contact?
A control tower is only useful if someone picks up the phone. Insist on a named account manager.
4. What happens when something goes wrong?
Returns, damages, mis-picks. The 3PL's claims process tells you more about their culture than any sales deck.
5. Can I exit cleanly?
30-day exit clauses, free handover of WMS data, no hostage warehouses. If the contract makes leaving hard, you'll regret signing.