Supplier verification often starts with certificates and stops too early. A business licence, ISO certificate or product test report can be useful, but each one answers a narrow question. None of them proves on its own that the quoting company controls the factory, has made the exact item before, or will keep using the same materials after approval.
The real question is narrower than whether a supplier is good in general: can this legal entity, with this production setup, deliver this product on the agreed terms? These are the checks we use to answer it.
- Identity. The legal company on the contract, the bank-account holder, the export documents and the factory shown to the buyer should add up to one coherent picture. If they do not, we want the difference explained before any money moves.
- Processes. A factory visit should verify the processes that matter for this product, not just confirm that there are machines in a building.
- Records and controls. Look at production records and incoming-material controls. Together with the next two points, they usually tell us more than a showroom does.
- Capacity and subcontracting. Check that the factory can carry the volume, and find out which steps, if any, are subcontracted.
- Rejected goods. Ask how rejected goods are handled, and see it in practice if possible.
- Specification behaviour. A supplier who avoids specification details or will not state tolerances is telling you something, even if every certificate looks valid.
- Payment instructions. The same applies to a supplier who changes payment instructions without a clear reason.
The certificates go into the file with the rest of this evidence. They support the decision, but they are only one part of it.