How to Verify an Overseas Supplier

Ask for the supplier's business licence and, where relevant, export licence, and cross-check the registered company name against the name on quotes and invoices, inconsistencies are a common red flag. In China, this can be checked against the business registration number; equivalent registries exist in most manufacturing countries.

A supplier unwilling to share basic registration documents before you've placed an order is worth treating cautiously.

Many suppliers found through B2B marketplaces are trading companies rather than factories, which isn't necessarily a problem, but you should know which you're dealing with, since it affects pricing, communication speed and your ability to influence production directly.

A factory audit (in person or via video call) checking production lines, equipment relevant to your product, and approximate workforce size is the most direct way to confirm manufacturing capability. Photos alone are easy to source from elsewhere and are not reliable verification on their own.

Ask about the supplier's typical order volumes and existing export markets, a factory that has only ever shipped small domestic orders may struggle with your production timeline or quality consistency at a larger volume.

A paid sample order, followed by a small trial production run before committing to full volume, is a reasonable way to test consistency without exposing your full order to risk.