Supplier Due Diligence: A Practical Framework

Start with registration: company certificate, export licence and tax identification, cross-checked against the name on the proforma invoice. A mismatch between the contracting entity and the licensed exporter is a red flag worth stopping for.

Then verify capacity. Ask for production or processing volumes, warehouse photographs with visible signage, and recent bills of lading with commercially sensitive details redacted. Genuine exporters can produce these quickly.

Check references with at least two existing buyers, ideally in your own market. Ask specifically about consistency between the approved sample and the shipped lot — that is where most relationships fail.

Finally, structure the first transaction to limit exposure: modest volume, inspection before payment release, and a letter of credit or staged payment against documents. Trust is earned across shipments, not asserted in a first email.