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Supplier Vetting Checklist
Get a niche-specific checklist of exactly what to verify, ask, and test before placing an order with a Chinese supplier, tailored to your product category and EU compliance requirements.
Get a niche-specific checklist of exactly what to verify, ask, and test before placing an order with a Chinese supplier, tailored to your product category and EU compliance requirements.
Free No sign-up Takes ~8 seconds
This checklist helps you ask the right questions. Your SinoSource decision report goes further, with evidence-scored supplier shortlists, transparent EU-readiness criteria, and Safety Gate screening relevant to your product scope.
Get the full reportMost sourcing problems are visible before the first purchase order, in the gap between what a supplier claims and what they can evidence. Vetting is the work of closing that gap while it is still cheap to walk away.
A business licence, a registered scope that covers what they are selling you, and a factory address that matches the entity on the invoice. Trading companies presenting as manufacturers is the most common mismatch, and it is not automatically disqualifying, but it changes who controls your quality.
Production photos, existing customer references in your market, and test reports for the specific model rather than a similar one. A factory competent in a neighbouring category is still learning on your order.
Certificates get reused across product lines. Check that the model, the standard and the notified body on the document match what you are buying, and that the certificate is still valid.
Written terms covering inspection rights, defect handling, tooling ownership and what happens to your deposit if production slips. Vagueness here is not an oversight, it is a negotiating position.
The compliance surface changes completely by category. Baby products carry testing and labelling duties that garden lighting does not, and electronics bring EMC and low-voltage requirements that textiles never touch. The generated checklist reflects the category you enter.
Not always, but someone should. For a first order of any significant value, a third-party audit or an agent visit is usually cheaper than the first failed production run. Video calls walking the line are a reasonable middle step for lower-value orders.
Accepting a certificate without checking that it covers the exact model being bought. Reused and expired certificates are widespread, and the importer, not the supplier, is the party the market surveillance authority contacts.
Yes, with no sign-up. It generates in a few seconds and can be printed. The paid SinoSource report goes further with evidence-scored supplier shortlists and Safety Gate screening for your product scope.