Picking the wrong 3PL doesn't blow up on day one. It drips. A pallet goes missing in week two. The cycle count numbers don't match yours in week six. By month three you're spending more time auditing their work than running your own operation. I've seen it happen more than once, and almost every time, the red flags were there at the sales stage — nobody just knew to look for them. The first thing I watch is how they answer questions about their WMS. If the response is a bro