Visiting warehouses is the easy part of choosing a partner in Kolkata. Every site looks organised on a dry day with a guide walking you through it. The differences show up when you ask questions that force specific answers. If you are comparing a warehouse service provider Kolkata businesses rely on, the seven questions below separate operators who have solved this city’s problems from those who have only heard of them.
1. What happened here the last time it rained heavily?
Kolkata’s delta setting means waterlogging and long humid spells are normal conditions to plan for, not rare events. Ask for a plain account of the last heavy monsoon: did water enter the premises, did vehicles reach the gate, how many dispatch days were lost, and what changed afterwards.
Look for specifics such as raised plinths, drainage maintenance, pallets kept off the floor, and a plan for rerouting vehicles. A provider who can describe a real monsoon incident and its fix is more credible than one who says flooding is never an issue.
2. How does cargo get from the port, rail terminal, or highway to your door?
Inbound cargo often passes through port clearance, container yards, and rail or road haulage before it reaches a warehouse. Ask who owns each step, what happens when clearance is delayed, and where cargo waits.
For outbound, ask about the legs to eastern and northeastern India. Long distances and seasonal road disruption mean contingency routes should already be mapped. Where a leg is subcontracted, ask who stays accountable for the cargo and how records carry across.
3. Can I see my stock, accurately, without calling you?
Ask for a live demonstration of the warehouse management system using sample data: receipt, put-away by location, pick, dispatch. Then ask how often counts are done, how variances are reported, and whether your team gets direct access or only periodic reports.
Also ask how orders and stock positions move between your systems and theirs. Manual re-keying is where discrepancies begin, so understand that link before volumes grow.
4. How do you protect humidity-sensitive stock?
High humidity affects paper, textiles, electronics, packaged food, and many healthcare products. Ask about ventilation, roof condition, storage height, and any moisture or temperature control available. Ask how long-stay stock is inspected and what is done when damp damage is found.
Regulated or temperature-sensitive goods need more than general storage, so your regulatory team should confirm which licences and conditions apply, and the provider should show documents matching the activity.
5. What do you do at peak, and what do I pay for it?
Festive periods and sale events can multiply order volumes in days. Ask how labour is added, how much extra space can be committed, and how long notice you must give. Ask what peak surcharges apply and what happens to the extra capacity once demand drops.
Get peak terms in writing before the season, because capacity promised verbally rarely appears when everyone needs it at once.
6. How are returns, damages, and exceptions handled?
Ask what happens to a returned item from the day it arrives: inspection, grading, restocking, and the time each step takes. Ask how damaged or missing stock is recorded at receipt, who investigates, and how claims are settled.
Request a sample exception report with client details removed. A provider with no recorded exceptions may simply not be looking.
7. What does the contract say about minimums, escalation, and exit?
Compare quotes against one written scope covering storage, handling, value-added work, returns, systems fees, peak charges, insurance, and liability limits. Check minimum billing commitments, lock-in periods, annual escalation, and what happens to your stock and data if you leave.
Ask how stock transfers out at exit, and who pays for it, because a contract that is easy to enter and hard to leave transfers all the bargaining power to the provider.
Reading the answers
Score each provider on the seven questions using evidence you saw, not statements you heard: photographs, records, system screens, and a site visit during or just after heavy rain. Treat vague answers as information.
An integrated provider that runs transportation, warehousing, and distribution reduces the handoffs in questions two and six. AWL India is an integrated 3PL offering these services together, and the seven questions are a fair way to test it, as you would any other candidate.
Before you commit
- Write down your products, volumes, peak months, and humidity needs.
- Send the same seven questions to each provider and ask for documents with each answer.
- Visit shortlisted sites and verify ownership, land use, and fire clearances.
- Run a pilot with one product family before moving full volume.
- Fix metrics in the contract: stock accuracy, dispatch on time, damage rate, and returns turnaround.
The provider worth choosing is the one that answers all seven with specifics and invites you to check them.
